Bound By Light: Shenanigans Corner
by TruthOutrunsTheFiction
Summary: Can friends really be called friends if they don't jerk each others chain once in a while? Of course not. Laugh & joke with the Bound By Light cast. Tough times lay ahead & getting through rough patches is done easiest with a smile. Series of one-shots & short stories to be fun or clever fill-ins with explanations. So don't get in a twist if a chapter isn't necessarily "Funny"
1. Forward

Hello again my amazing readers! This is the shenanigans corner!

By 'shenanigans', I mean this will be a series of mostly one-shots of various scenes and scenarios I had rolling around in my head that I really wanted to write. But the problem being, they _do not necessarily fit in with the timeline of the Bound By Light series or the other KH games_. Some do, others were just too funny or fun not to do anything with. I ran these antics by my human soundboard and she laughed so hard. Hopefully the rest of you will feel the same.

I think it shows growing friendships and builds the bonds of the key bearers, largely do to childish antics and laughter. I feel this builds up the love and strength they will need to turn to in the battles ahead. Which I may have my own ideas for a final battle against Xehanort (I didn't say that). It will of course have no connection to KH3.


	2. Before the Exam

Shortly after the bottle message was discovered on the shores of Destiny Island, two friends found themselves once again climbing the steps to the Mysterious Tower.

The time had come for them to take The Mark of Mastery. The letter explained little about what it was that would happen. And before, neither Rachel or Bryan had said anything about what exactly the Mark of Mastery entailed, only that it was the test that a key bearer had to pass if they were to earn the title of Keyblade Master.

Sora was very excited, with just that little nip of nervousness in the bottom of his stomach. If Riku was feeling the same he hid it very well.

"Can you believe it? The chance to become Keyblade Masters!" Sora said. "Rachel and Bryan won't be the only Masters anymore! And what's that you brought?"

Riku hadn't said much the whole time. Cradled under his right arm Riku had something covered with a piece of cloth. It wasn't very big but it was impossible to tell what it was.

"You'll find out once we find Rachel."

"Ooooh, so it's a present?"

"Yes."

"You can tell me what it is."

"No."

"C'mon! What'll it hurt?"

"No."

They met Master Yen Sid on the stairs just outside the sorcerers study. He'd been waiting for them. Mickey, Donald and Goofy were also waiting just inside. Master Yen Sid informed them Rachel and Bryan were not there. He had sent them off on another training mission. The Mark of Mastery was not a spectator event. As they were all friends, the sorcerer didn't want to have their performance altered in any way.

Riku was visibly disappointed but wasn't so upset about Rachel not being there to be there for the test, but he wouldn't be able to give her his present.

"So what exactly is that?" Sora asked.

No point hiding it any longer. Riku took off the cloth that hid what he intended to give his girlfriend. Beneath the cloth was a small bowl with three wee goldfish inside.

"Goldfish? As a present? I'm no expert, but don't girls prefer to get flowers or something?"

"It's something she said a while ago. She'll get it."

"Goldfish?"

"She'll get it."

"But are _goldfish_ the best idea for a present?"

"Like I said, she'll get it."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

"She has a cat."

Riku paused, obviously he hadn't thought about how goldfish would be a nice gift for Rachel but also might be seen as take-in for Tatania. Yen Sid chuckled. With a wave of his hand the sorcerer made the bowl vanish and it reappeared on Rachel's bed stand.

Yen Sid straightened his posture.

"I trust you both are ready."

Sora and Riku nodded.

"Good. Then follow me and the Mark of Mastery will begin."

* * *

"So today's the big day! Sora and Riku are supposed to take the Mark of Mastery today!"

"That was today?"

"Shame Master said we couldn't be there. 'No distractions' and all that."

"Why would we want to be there when we can be here?"

Masters Rachel and Bryan were presently in the middle of a new challenge meant to expand their puzzle solving skills. So they were currently hanging upside down, tied back-to-back together over a room full of water. There was a small boat floating a ways away. One on side of the room was a special puzzle key to unlock the door on the other side. The challenge was to get down somehow and use the boat to get from one side of the room to the other with the key to get out. But the boat was small and they both had to be in it in order to land it on the platform with the key. Flying wasn't permitted. And there was something in the water.

"Ok, so let's go over this again." Bryan said. "Can't fly. Tied together but the foot binds to the ceiling are separate. We could break the bonds between us but still be hanging here. At least we'd be able to use our hands to figure out the next step."

"Did Master say anything about not getting wet? We could just drop and swim to the boat."

"I don't remember him saying that. But what about those things in the water?"

"Good point."

"But what are they?" Bryan asked. "Too small for sharks. Did Master seriously add a _piranha pool_ to this challenge!?"

"Um…ok. Let's try this. I'll summon one and you catch it with Wind magic so it doesn't hit me in the face."

"Won't hurt to give it a try."

Rachel closed her eyes and cast the spell of summoning. Within seconds one of the dark shapes in the water zoomed upward. About a foot and a half away it stopped midair, trapped in an orb of wind.

"Wow, that worked." Bryan said. "So what is it?"

"Oh! It's a pacu! And it's _huge_!"

"What's a pacu?"

"It's a piranha cousin."

"Fantastic."

"Oh no, it's ok. These guys are vegetarians."

"That's good."

"Wait…scratch that."

"Why?"

"I just saw it snap its jaws when it kicked. This one has, uh…changed."

"Will you please just speak plainly? And can I drop this thing now?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Pacu are vegetarians but can turn carnivore if there isn't enough of their natural food to sustain them and develop huge, crushing teeth. Not exactly good news for you."

"Me? Why me?"

She chuckled dryly. "I read about this place where they were introduced to a place they weren't supposed to be. After they ate everything they physically changed and they started attacking people and…I'll just stop with their local nickname is 'the ball cutter'."

Bryan was quiet for a minute, fully processing what that meant.

"So no dropping."

"Not a good idea, no." She replied.

"Could you do that summon thing with the boat? Just bring it up underneath us and we can drop into it. Once we're sitting we can drop the boat and row or push with Wind magic to get the key."

"Sounds possible. I can't think how that breaks any of the rules set for this challenge so, I guess let's do it."

"Let's just try and hurry." Bryan said. "Once we finish this we can get back to the Tower and maybe see how Sora and Riku are doing with the exam."

"Oh yes!"

"Stop wiggling!"

"Sorry! I really want to get out of here to be there when Sora and Riku are named Masters!"

"I'd applaud your optimism but we first need to figure out how to get untied!"

"We just need to hurry up before we miss anything exciting!"

* * *

***Please ignore any discrepancies. They are either deliberate or will be explained in later chapters. Some references, like Riku and the bowl of goldfish being something Rachel would understand will only make sense if you have read the Bound By Light Chirstmas special. I'm tying in a lot of things here so best catch up on previous Acts so there is as little confusion as possible. Also, as stated in the story summary, not everything will necessarily be intended for amusement. Some chapters will be links to others, fill ins or explanations that didn't really fit into anything else. I felt it necessary to give the information but didn't have anywhere else to put it.


	3. After the Exam

"You never said there was anything _**after**_ the puzzle door!" Bryan fumed.

"That took us _forever_!"

"A hedge maze that went on for miles!?"

"And after the first hour started filling up with water!"

"You know what happens to us when the water gets too deep!"

The surrounding situation may have been heavy but that didn't stop Master Yen Sid from smiling when Rachel and Bryan entered his study more than a little miffed. They did manage to get untied from the ceiling, in the boat, across the room to acquire the special puzzle key, figure out the puzzle and use it to open the door on the other side. The duo assumed that would be it and they could see how the Mark of Mastery was going.

But no, beyond the door was a hedge labyrinth with towering walls. They could only assume the rules of no flying were still in effect. Of course. That would have been way too easy otherwise. The only further instructions were to get to the center, where the door to the exit would be and there could be no molesting the hedges by either force or magic to get from one path to another. And to watch out for the turtles. That didn't make any sense at first until they noticed some of the cobblestones looked way too big for normal pathway stones and unlike the ones surrounding them were patterned. Seemed easy enough. Make their way through the maze and don't step on the turtle shells.

As if it could be that simple.

Not only was the maze super complicated, like they said, water started to pool from between the rocks and under the hedges. After the first hour they noticed the water pooling. The longer they were in the maze, the faster the water rose. They both had been using their magic to color the stones as they walked so they could recognized where they'd been if they got turned around. Only they colored the light gray rocks black so the color difference was hard to see underwater. And when the water got about ankle-deep the turtles started to get active. They'd already been alerted to outsiders but didn't do anything since they weren't being disturbed. Only now, in their proper element, they didn't want anyone there who didn't belong. And these were not cute little red-eared sliders or doe-eyed sea turtles. Rachel reported they resembled soft-shell turtles; they were a long necked turtle and were very fast and extremely aggressive to make up for their lack of protective shell. And _these_ turtles were armed with sharp beaks like snappers _and_ small but sharp teeth. You can't swim well in knee-deep water. Neither can you run. And the second the water got too deep they dropped, having to swim the rest of the maze and avoiding the ornery turtles.

The young Masters were visibly peeved but you can't exactly vent as much as you'd like to your master and mentor. Yen Sid couldn't suppress a small smile to his pupils response to the unexpected twist in their learning quest. Of course they would have to be prepared for the unexpected in a real-world situation. And even though the sorcerer had no idea how long the Mark of Mastery would be for Sora and Riku, he figured the maze twist would take them longer to return. Although considering what happened Yen Sid had mixed feelings about the sibling Masters not be there. They may have been able to help, or they might not. Too late now so the only option was to move forward.

"You haven't forgotten why you're here I presume?"

"Oh yeah!"

The gear switch might have been comical if the surrounding situation hadn't been so serious.

"Wait, why is Kairi here?" Bryan noticed. "And where's Sora?" Odd that one of the key persons for the whole test was absent.

"There were unexpected complications during the Mark of Mastery." Yen Sid explained. "While Riku successfully earned the rank and title of Master, Sor-."

"RIKU!" Rachel jumped to him the second she realized he was there and thrilled by the good news. Only before she got too close she nearly stripped gears coming to a very abrupt stop.

Riku was very surprised by her sudden change of greeting and didn't even have a chance to lift his arms for the hug he was expecting before she skidded to a halt.

"What have you done to yourself!?" She cried.

"…done?" Riku asked slowly, very confused.

Rachel took a step closer, lifted her arms and fwipped the ends of his hair. "It's all gone!"

" _Seriously_!?" Bryan said, aghast. He had to speak up a little over Kairi laughing. "Master just said he passed the Mark of Mastery and the first thing you notice and comment on is his _hair_?"

The quick turn of events was so strange and abrupt Riku couldn't help but laugh too. And considering what had happened during the test, he could have used it. Rachel's pitiful look was adorable as well as a little heartbreaking. It was like the look of a kicked puppy. Riku hadn't given any thought to her opinion of his hair when he asked Kairi to help him get it more manageable before the Mark of Mastery.

"Wow," Bryan said. "Riku, your eyes are blue."

"Thanks for that, I'd forgotten." Riku said sarcastically.

"Well I could never see your whole face before."

"I can't look directly at you until I get used to this." Rachel said, looking away and shielding her eyes.

"That hurts."

"Oh! Hold the phone, who's this?"

It was then Rachel and Bryan noticed there was another person in the room; a tall redhead they didn't know. He'd been standing quietly in the back of the room, keeping his amusement to the whole spectacle to himself.

"Rachel, Bryan, this is Lea." Master Yen Sid introduced. "Lea, they are pupils of mine, brother and sister and also Keyblade Masters."

"I can see the resemblance." The stranger called Lea said. "I guess I'm a part of the team now."

"Oh?"

Lea held out his hand and a flaming orange and red Keyblade appeared.

"That's new." Bryan said. "Hold on a second," Bryan looked between Lea, Kairi, noticed Sora was still missing then to Master Yen Sid. "There's _a lot_ that we missed, wasn't there?"

The sorcerer nodded gravely. He recapped the events surrounding the Mark of Mastery. Inspired by the adventure Rachel and Bryan had in the dream worlds years ago and sensing some worlds still had yet to awaken from sleep, Yen Sid chose that task to be the focal point of the test. Only different methods had to be used in order to get them to the sleeping worlds. When the siblings entered the dream worlds, they had the book containing the sleeping soul of Fantasia to act as their gate. But that world had been awoken and the book was now just a book. But the way he chose also permitted Xehanort in his various forms to follow. He would explain more on the events to them later.

Even though Sora had gotten caught in Xehanort's scheme, the fact still remained he had been unable to finish the Mark of Mastery while Riku had. There would be time to retake and pass the test later, for now the most important thing was everyone was all right. Kairi had been brought in with the hope she could relearn how she was able to hold a Keyblade back in The World That Never Was. Lea had only learned earlier that day that he too had been accepted as a wielder. He would leave it to Lea to tell his story on his own time. Rachel had eyed how Lea was dressed with suspicion. It was the same kind of coat the young Xehanort had worn when he followed them through the dream worlds years ago.

King Mickey would be returning soon. Master Yen Sid dismissed everyone so that he might have private council with him. Things would be getting more serious and dangerous than they ever had before. Yes, there were now more key bearers and Masters than there had been in a long time to combat the threat, but Xehanort was unquestionably good at planning ahead. No doubt he had several ways planned out for a very long time to reach similar objectives in the event of any unforeseen snags. Xehanort seemed to always be a step ahead. Now they had to anticipate and strategize how they could change the status quo in their favor. Master Yen Sid didn't like the idea of putting everyone through an extreme crash course for all the things they'd need to know about magic and the Keyblade but he didn't have a lot of choice. Xehanort may have a plan in motion that very moment. Or it could be weeks, months or longer before he had all his schemes lined up to his satisfaction. That would mean more time for his pupils to learn the skills they needed, but that also would mean Xehanort had more time to weave his net tighter.

"So I guess you'll be staying at the Tower now that you're a key bearer." Rachel said to Lea.

"Stay here?"

"Would be easier for training rather than going back and forth from wherever you're from. Where _are_ you from anyway?"

"I grew up in Radiant Garden."

"No kidding! So did we!"

"Really? What part of the city?"

"Outskirts."

"Central district."

"No wonder we never met. Even as a kid I'm sure I would have remembered that head." She made a gesture to his spiky red hair.

Lea chuckled.

"I could show you a bit of the Tower if you'd like." Rachel said.

"Sure, she doesn't want to spend time with _me_."

"Sorry, Riku. It's fantastic you're a Master now. I'm really happy and really proud. But I can't look directly at you just yet with that hair."

Kairi still thought that was funny. Rachel and Lea continued down the Tower steps. Kairi was about to say something but Bryan came to a very abrupt halt on the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Did you see that?" Bryan asked, looking at Lea and his sister as they took a turn around a corner.

"See what?" Riku asked.

"Those two."

"What?"

"That's interesting."

" _What_ is?"

"Those two are going to be great friends."

"How can you tell?"

"They only just met."

"I can _hear_ it. Just something about the way their hearts sound."

"I don't like it." Riku said.

"Oh you got nothing to worry about. But believe me, I'm right. I give it a year and they'll be as tight as you and Sora. Maybe more."

"Impossible." Kairi said.

"I stand firm in my prediction."

"We'll see."

* * *

Late that night Lea stood at his window, his first night in the Tower. He had a lot of things on his mind, mostly regarding the events of the day. It was a lot to take in. So he started with the easiest. Staying at a magical tower to learn the ways of the Keyblade? Incredible. Rachel had shown him around a lot and the place was amazing.

The room that had been assigned to him was really sweet. He'd been waiting in the hallway down a ways from Rachel and Bryan's room (which was ridiculous how big it was) when Bryan came by awkwardly carrying a door, complete with frame under his arm.

"What's that for?" He'd asked.

"Your room."

"Huh?"

He followed Bryan down the hall, hoping to figure out what the heck that was supposed to be going on. Bryan walked down the hall to three doors side-by-side, separated only by the doorframe.

"What are these? Broom closets?"

"Riku asked the exact same thing. Just watch."

Bryan had set the door against the wall, lined it up against the nearest one and held both hands flat against the door. Then pushed the door right into the wall! Just like a button.

"There you go, all yours. The black one is for you. The other three are for Sora, Riku and Kairi."

"They have rooms here too?"

"Technically those are guest rooms but they used them last time they were here. With the new problems we're all facing, I don't think they'll have a problem with these being their go-to rooms while they train here."

"How did you do the whole thing with the door and the wall?"

"Everything here is soaked with magic. Moving a door and a room is easy."

It was obvious he had a lot to learn. The room itself was awesome. It actually startled him a bit when Bryan opened the door. It looked like he had opened a portal to the top of an erupting volcano! The sky was bright blue but partially obstructed by clouds of wispy black smoke. It seemed to go on for miles. The peak of the eruption was a long way off so the magma was black on the surface with bright orange seams shining through as it continuously shifted. Turns out it was the most incredible illusion he'd ever seen. The walls were done up with magic paint to just appear as the vast open sky running alongside a volcanic mountain range. The floor's carpet was short and tightly woven and just looked like magma but the orange fire beneath did actually cast a soft glow with the lights turned off. The bed was also cleverly disguised. Until Bryan pulled the comforter back, Lea thought the mass of rock was just a part of the wall painting. And with a push on the farthest wall, a window appeared.

So key bearers got some pretty cozy living. And now he was one of them. It was an incredible honor and he couldn't quite wrap his head around it yet. Apparently the Keyblade looked beyond the rough parts of his past. That was a relief. The last few years had been a crazy roller coaster. It made Lea's stomach churn to think how many lives had been turned topsy turvy in some way because of one man and his insane ideals. This included himself…and his oldest friend.

Lea felt physically sick thinking back on Sora's rescue. When his attacker's hood fell back…it was Isa. Xehanort had said all he brought in that dream room were vessels of his heart. So why was Isa there? He couldn't have been like Braig and went along with Xehanort willingly, right? There was no way Isa would have gone along with it. Right? Then again…as Saix he was the one who sent him to Castle Oblivion to confirm Marluxia and Larxene had betrayed the Organization and needed to be eliminated. Saix had his eyes on upping his rank in the Organization. Whether for power or to prove his loyalty to the cause was anyone's guess. Yes, Isa hadn't retained much of his former self when he became a Nobody but…

Sure, Lea got the impression Isa felt betrayed when he befriended Roxas, like he had been replaced as a close friend. But everything felt different without a heart. So this might not be truly intentional? A decision made when not possessing a heart and therefore your true self would be like making a decision when you're drunk, right? You're not in your right mind therefore your judgement cannot be considered viable. Or Xehanort could have overpowered him, forcing Isa to be a vessel for his heart. Lea sat a lot more comfortable with the thought of his childhood friend being forced or tricked than being a willing participant for any reason.

Regardless of reasons (even though questions for those reasons were ripping him apart and he had no answers) there was still the matter of whether or not anything could be done to help Isa. Could he fight back for his freedom? Could Xehanort be cast out and his heart restored. As much as he didn't like to think about it, he would be foolish and naïve not to leave on the table the possibility there was nothing that could be done. If that were true, in essence, Isa might as well be considered dead. That thought terrified him. His physical self was being run like a puppet by Xehanort's heart fragment. But without his own heart, his true self, rough edges and all was gone. Lea tried to push it all to the back of his mind. He'd roll it over all night and just make himself feel worse the longer he thought about it.

Lea did have one thought to uplift his spirits a bit. He felt from just the tour of the Tower he could have a good friendship with that Rachel. So he put it to the test. To honor a childhood tradition he and Isa started when they met a new friend, Lea decided to pull a small prank. How the new friend reacted to said prank would serve as a key indicator to how the friendship would go. Some got angry, some were sensitive and cried some retaliated with another prank to return the favor.

Come morning he should have an answer. Until then, Lea tried to push all things from his mind so he could sleep peacefully. A lot would be happening soon, and he would have to be ready.


	4. The Way It's Going To Be

Rachel shuffled in her bed. Something was disturbing her sleep. But she didn't want to care. Sleep was glorious. But she was getting to the point where her brain and body were at war with each other and switching sides for who wanted to stay asleep or wake up. But what was waking her up? She wanted to be just awake enough to find out what it was, but also wanted to sleep and ignore it. But it kept happening. Was it…a noise? Yes. A shuffling? Something was moving about.

Yeah, whatever. Eyelids fit around the eyes so nice and snug for a reason. But there was another sound. A sound of…distress? That was the best way she could think to describe it even though her brain was still coated with felt. Fine! So it won't stop? She'd make it stop! Then again…maybe in a minute. Yet another sound entered the mix with the shuffling about. Ok, she knew what that sound was.

Very reluctantly Rachel slipped her arm from under her nice warm blanket and groped blindly for the candlestick on her nightstand. Only it must have been out of reach and that just made her frustrated. So she started blowing in that general direction until her breath caught the candle wick and lit it. Oh! That little light flicker was horrible when your eyes were still half asleep! Rachel rolled over and sat up. She hated having to get up in the night for any reason. This had better not be a false alarm.

In the candlelight, something small and black kept shuffling backwards along the edge of the bed. It was Tatania, with her head stuck in a slipper. The comedy of the situation helped to wake her up some more, even though her baby was in need of help. When Tatania heard her mistress scoot along the bed, she stopped, waiting to be rescued. Rachel hung her legs over the side and picked her up.

"Silly sweetie, aren't you a little old for getting your head stuck in things?"

Rachel put her cat on the bed so she could shake the way cats like to. She did. Rachel picked her up again.

"So what was all that about?"

Obviously Tatania couldn't answer. But she did do something peculiar; she licked at her lips. No, she _repeatedly_ licked her lips, then rubbed her head with her foot then licked her paws. Odd. It was the kind of licking when a cat was sure there were still more morsels to be found. But Tatania wasn't fed in Rachel's room. And Rachel didn't leave cat treats in her room. Even if she had, that wouldn't explain why Tatania got her head stuck in her slipper.

Rachel inspected the slipper. There didn't seem to be anything odd about it. She picked up the other slipper. Was she crazy or did it seem a little heavier that a slipper should be? Rachel tilted the slipper toward the light but couldn't…no, there was something there. She reached out her left hand. The candlestick zoomed to her. With the light a little closer she could see there _was_ something in her slipper. It was pasty and white. What the heck! With hesitation, Rachel gave it a careful sniff. Foot and something else. Dairy? That made no sense. But it was. Another sniff. Was that… _cream cheese_?

 _Somebody put cream cheese in my house slipper_! Rachel thought angrily. That's how Tatania got her head stuck, she'd been licking it out and was trying to get more. But who would do that?

She couldn't say why, but immediately her mind went to that new guy. She had no idea how she knew that but she was sure she was right. Why he did it was a complete mystery but nobody else made any sense. She and Bryan messed with each other a lot but not usually in the form of a prank. Besides, if it were Bryan, he'd've done something different. He also knew Tatania would be more likely to find and eat it first. And no matter how many times she rolled it over in her head, Rachel couldn't think of why Sora, Riku or Kairi would do such a thing either.

With a wave of her hand a little laundry tray was called to the room and took away the slippers. Rachel pulled Tatania up to the top of the bed, blew out the candle and snuggled back under her covers. After all, revenge was best executed with a clear head.

* * *

Lea woke feeling the most refreshed he than he could ever remember in his life. He'd never slept so deeply. He hoped it was from the comfort of the bed and not the weight of the day keeping him under. There was a closet in the wall he hadn't seen last night. It appeared when he needed it. _And_ it was full. Not of anything he owned but definitely things he'd wear. Oh he was going to love this place.

So Lea got dressed. It felt great to be able to dress like a normal person again. He'd gone with an off-white shirt and a lightweight denim jacket with copper stitching on the back in the shape of wings. The jeans were black with way too many pockets that made sense. There were links on most of the pockets with fine-linked chains, also copper. The black boots were really sweet. Real leather. They fit perfectly and didn't feel strange or stiff despite never being worn before. There was also a red bandana he folded up and tied around his neck, the knot off to the side.

So now time for breakfast. Only…which way was it again? He'd been shown where the kitchen was but hadn't exactly drawn a map. Maybe one of the others would be nearby to show him the way. Only nobody seemed to be around. Great. Now what? He was also curious if Rachel had found his little 'surprise' that morning. It was kinda've a hit-and-miss. Maybe she didn't wear slippers daily. Guess he'd find out soon.

An unfriendly noise got his attention. Lea froze when he saw what had made the noise. A big red and gray dog with deep crimson eyes stood near the end of the hallway, looking at him. Lea didn't move. Nobody said anything about monsters roaming the Tower! But the dog just turned and walked slowly the other direction. Cloven feet? What kind of dog was that? Just as he was confident it was leaving, the dog turned and looked at him again and made a deep huff sound. It took a few more steps, turned and made the same gruff sound again. It wanted him to follow it? Must be. It looked annoyed that he wasn't right behind it and there was an 'About time' air to its body language when he did follow. Still, he kept his distance. Dang that thing had big teeth.

But, it didn't look over its shoulder again so long as he was following it. It seemed to know where it was going, and sure enough led him right to the kitchen. The door was open. It trotted ahead and went through the door. The closer Lea got to the door; he saw the dog had come to rest at Bryan's feet. So that thing belonged to him? So much to learn. Everyone was already eating. Those facing the door looked up and either waved or nodded when they saw him.

But a calming breakfast with new friends was hardly how the morning began. The second Lea got to the door…his foot caught on something. Not enough to trip over but enough to make him stop. Lea looked down at what he caught his foot on as an instinctive reaction. Even then, he knew it was too late. He'd just stepped into a string, no, a tripwire. Lea didn't even have a chance to look up when the bucket that had been balanced on the door had been tipped over, raining its contents all over him. It was full of flour.

He didn't have time to cry out in surprise, only sputter, cough and sneeze as he tried to shake off the flour. Everyone looked pretty shocked at what had just happened. Kairi had covered her mouth with both hands to suppress a gasp and a giggle. It was that kind of laugh where you know you shouldn't be laughing but you can't help it. All except Rachel. She only looked up for a few seconds with casual interest when Lea tripped the string. Then, covered in powder and shaking huge white clouds from his head, she merely turned her attention back to her omelet like nothing at all interesting was happening.

Lea couldn't exactly be angry. He started this after all. So that was the way it was going to be. He was actually quite okay with it. If that was the note a relationship started on, this was going to be a really awesome friendship.

But he would be getting her back.


	5. Shower Talk

"Oi! What are you doing here!"

"Taking a shower, what else?"

"You can't do that now, _I'm_ here."

"You're four shower stalls away. Each has a glass door so frosted you can't see anything. And the walls are a few inches taller than me. Even on tiptoe I wouldn't be able to see the person next to me. You have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't try to look even if I could."

The first time Lea needed to get cleaned up at the Tower, the trip to the bathing rooms was a bit of a challenge. How was he supposed to choose? Taking a shower was supposed to be simple! But there were so many tubs, showers and pools of all sizes. He was going to use a side room but Kairi was already there so he was quickly banished. Lea was really grateful the room was very steamy and the water was deep enough he couldn't have seen anything even if he hadn't backpedaled as quickly as he did once he realized she was there.

So he moved on to another room. This one had five shower stalls side by side. Only one of them was in use too. Geesh, was this the scheduled bath day? Of course it would be the girls who would be there. Rachel wasn't too pleased with having to share her space but he wasn't going on another hunt for a place just to take a shower.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Lea said over the sounds of running water.

"Guess it depends on the question."

"You and Riku, are you _together_?"

"Yep."

"Interesting."

"Why is that interesting?"

"No reason. It just…is. I've just seen how you two are with each other and it made me wonder."

"Yes, we're dating."

They didn't say anything for a few minutes, then,

"Do you hear that?" Lea heard Rachel ask.

"Hear what?"

"That light hiss-skizzle sound. And where is all this steam coming from? Just how hot do you take your showers?"

"Oh, sorry. That'd be me."

"Be you? What does that mean?"

"The heat difference, that's me and the water."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute."

Lea heard her turn the water down and a squeaky noise. She must be stepping up on the thin ledge around the base of the shower. He turned the water down too and stood on his toes to look over the top. He could only see her from about the eyes up.

"That sound is _you_?"

"Yeah, something about the fire magic I have. My body heat runs hotter than everybody else because of it. I guess it's the fire in my blood."

"Seriously? Your whole life?"

"No, since just before the whole business with Xehanort at the castle started. It wasn't even in full-fledge before I was Axel. Afterward, there was a reason I was nicknamed the Flurry of Dancing Flames."

"Sweet title."

"Thanks."

"Sounds like your power more Elemental in nature than just magic."

"Elemental? Like earth, water, air and fire?"

"There are actually several more than just the well-known four. But the use of the power is about the same. It's a power that resides within and is a part of the person wholly."

"But I never had that ability before. If I've always had it, shouldn't I have been able to snap my fingers and use my thumb like a lighter since I was a kid?"

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, just like…well, can't do it _now_ , it's too wet. Back to the question please."

"It's entirely possible you always had that power but it needed something to 'ignite the spark' if you will."

"But that makes me wonder about the other Nobodies. All of them had specialized weapons and powers. It would be quite the convenient coincidence that _everyone_ Xehanort swindled were Elementals and that's why he chose them."

"I guess it's possible. But I also don't know what happens power-wise when someone becomes a Nobody. If you don't mind my asking, what were the others in the Organization like?"

"Personalities all across the board. Demnyx was laid back and, let's be honest, lazy. Sure he was all for obtaining a heart and becoming his own self but hated doing any sort of labor. Larxene, oh man I couldn't stand her. Arrogant, cocky with the most irritating voice I've ever heard. They had the power of water and lightning."

"You said a lot of them got their hearts back, do you know if they retained their powers?"

"Never asked."

"This whole thing about Elemental magic reminds me of a friend. She's got elemental powers too, ever since she was a kid."  
"What kind of power does she have?"

"Ice and snow. Her powers are often tied to her emotions. If she's really happy it will start snowing those fat, fluffy flakes. If she's anxious or worried it snows fine ice crystals and the room gets cold."

"Hope she's nicer than Vexen. He had ice powers too. I didn't like him either. D'you think the old guy would know why magic you're born with doesn't always show up until later?"

"First of all, if you're going to ask, _never_ call Master old. But I actually asked the same thing and he said that's one of the magical mysteries."

"Why would you ask him that?"

"I'm in-training to be a Sorceress. Master has commented a few times I have the deepest wellspring of magical potential he's ever seen in any apprentice he's ever taken on."

"Wow, you're that good, huh?"

"Oh yes, in of course my humblest of opinions. I asked him why that was. He said it was likely I was born with it. But I may have never been able to tap that power if I hadn't been chosen as a Keyblade wielder and came to apprentice under Master Yen Sid. Only then did I discover I had it and learned how to use it."

"So you're just naturally good at magic as I am with Fire."

"Yeah. But it's more than that. I _like_ magic. Magic is fun. You get good at the things you like doing."

"Rachel,"

"Yeah?"

"Is it a little weird that we just-?"

"Carried on an entire conversation while naked across shower stalls?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, it is a little weird, isn't it?"


	6. Intro To Quests

One of the big challenges Master Yen Sid presented was running the obstacle course he designed. The other was what Rachel and Bryan had dubbed the Mini Quests. Rachel had mentioned this to Riku when she had her brother had swooped in after Master Yen Sid had gone to Disney Castle for a council with King Mickey. The obstacle course was essentially just that. Obviously a lot more complicated than what you might see set up at a children's charity event or school function. There were always several tasks lined up that had to be completed, but every time the course was run, some elements were omitted and others added and the order changed. And for a personal challenge there was the option to have the run timed.

The Mini Quests were a completely different animal. It was like entering another world through a door. Depending on the complexity or goals of the quest determined how big the place was or how long it took. Sometimes a quest could take days. One time Rachel and Bryan went on quest where the only objective was to find a lost tortoise. Simple enough but they had to find it on a rocky mountain. Lots of ground to cover and a still tortoise looks like a rock.

Each phase of the quest, if there were more than one, often came with conditions or specific objectives. No flying was a big one for the sibling Masters. It forced them to puzzle their way out of situations. Others required them to fight a monster but without the use of magic. Sometimes the quest world was inhabited. Master Yen Sid was very good at extremely elaborate quests. Now that Sora, Riku, Kairi and Lea were on board completely, they would be expected to run through those quests too. Only they wouldn't have the leisure of easing into them like Rachel and Bryan had. It was a great exercise so not to grow complacent or dependent in their strongest skills.

For Rachel and Bryan, the obstacle course was their favorite. They were always perfecting there ways of getting through each part of the course. In many respects, they didn't even need their ability to fly to get over the hurdles. Even shaving a second off their previous times was worth celebrating and they were very dedicated to being as efficient as possible.

So they started going on quests and obstacle course runs together. The first time they ran the obstacle course, they were supposed to go as pairs. Rachel and Bryan immediately requested running the course together. There was no other reason for this other than they wanted to show off. And oh boy, they did. The very first time they ran the course, the first challenge was to cross a small chasm. Hardly the Grand Canyon but nothing you could jump over. It looked like you might be able to if you really tried but you would still come up several feet short. Flying was not allowed. So the other teams, Sora and Lea and Riku and Kairi were trying to piece together how they could cross the gap.

"What are you two doing?" Lea turned his attention to whatever Rachel and Bryan were doing.

The sibling duo was performing a move they had developed years ago and since its first successful implication during their fight with Madam Mim, they'd long-since perfected it. Bryan was crouched low a few yards from the edge of the gap; his longest Keyblade in hand. Rachel was a few yards further still behind him. He gave her a confirming nod then waited for her to be ready. Rachel prepped herself and charged at a full sprint. When she got close, she jumped. Bryan swung his Keyblade. Mid-swing, she came down just enough for him to catch her foot on the end of his Keyblade. He put his shoulder into the remainder of the swing, giving just enough back up force for Rachel to jump again. The second that happened, several things went down almost simultaneously. Rachel called her Keyblade, First Laugh. She then surrounded herself with an orb of Wind magic. At the same time, Bryan pulled his Keyblade back. He also formed a tight orb of wind over the end of the blade. At the right moment, he swung hard in such a way you'd think he was a pro baseball star, sending the wind orb hurtling at his sister. The two Wind magicks were spinning in opposite directions, so when they met, they crashed. The force of the stronger one, Bryan's, propelled his sister farther forward and gracefully across the gap.

As soon as she was across, a small bridge appeared for Bryan to cross. Sora looked impressed by their skill. Lea and Riku gave them rotten looks for showing off.

"How long did it take you to make that happen?" Kairi asked.

"Too long," Bryan called.

"How did you even think of something like that?"

"In general or for this challenge?"

"Either."

"One time the restriction changed for this challenge where we couldn't use magic the way we had to cross before. So we got creative." Rachel answered.

"Mind telling us what that original idea was?"

Rachel and Bryan both sat down on the other side and got comfortable, waiting for the others to come up with their own conclusions and join them.

"What about a hint?"

"Magic is okay this time."

"That's not much of a hint."

Eventually the four of them came up with the conclusion to create an ice bridge across the rift. Sora and Riku directed the thick ice and Lea and Kairi made blunted stalagmites grow on the sides to serve as a rail in case they slipped.

"Ha!" Sora said, very pleased with their efforts. "Top that!"

"Hate to burst your bubble,"

"But that was actually what we tried when we first started."

"Oh come on! That was clever!"

"It was, but not original."

"Maybe on the next one."


	7. Kiss Up

Warm autumn breezes kissed the amber trees. Leaves transitioning between their vibrant greens to cheerful oranges seemed to laugh when the breeze tickled them. None of the leaves had fallen. The ground was clear except the soft carpets of moss throughout the forest. The air itself seemed to glow gold. The sky always looked like the hour before the dawn ends.

Kairi stood barefoot in the eternal-autumn forest for a while. She loved the Hall of Gardens and visited them often. The princess took a long, deep breath. The air tasted sweet. The Destiny Islands didn't get seasons except for a period of uncomfortably hot and humid and a few weeks of nonstop rain. So to see a garden that was always in the fall was a refreshing and welcome change. But that wasn't the only reason Kairi liked this particular garden.

This was the garden where the three good fairies lived when not in their own world. Master Yen Sid welcomed them to use the quaint cottage in the autumn forest whenever they liked. Kairi got along great with the fairies. They were always ready and open to talk and never were short on stories or lessons to share. Kairi loved listening and learning from them. And the fairies always had a tray of tea and cookies ready whenever she visited.

But the visit she had come for had to be cut short. It was during a discussion about magic that Kairi remembered Merlin had a magic lecture scheduled for the six key bearers that afternoon. It was amazing all the things they still had to learn. Both Merlin and the fairies had been brought in as teachers too. Rachel and Bryan had been taught under Merlin as a secondary instructor from the day they began training as Keyblade warriors. Although a secondary teacher, Merlin was the one who taught them the most about magic. Now that she and Lea were brought in to learn the ways of the Keyblade and become defenders of Light, lessons to expand their knowledge and skills were put through a crash course. One of them was Merlin's magic lectures.

When Kairi realized what time it was, she had to say a hurried goodbye to the fairies and ran back to the Tower as fast as she could. It was getting easier to navigate the Mysterious Tower by the day. That's why the only thing that held her up getting to the mirror portal that led to Merlin's houses was how fast she could run. Maybe she should ask Rachel to make her a pixie dust pouch. That would certainly make rush trips a lot easier. In a side room of the Tower was a large wooden-framed mirror. Touching the mirror activated it and it opened to either Merlin's cottage in an unknown forest or his house in Radiant Garden.

"Well, what do we have here? Hey guys, look who decided to join us." Lea teased when Kairi scampered through the door.

"Sorry I'm late!" Kairi apologized to Merlin. "I was having tea with the good fairies and lost track of time."

"Ooooh, _tea parties_."

"No matter, my dear." Merlin told her, ignoring Bryan's teasing comment. "I wasn't going to begin without you. But your timeliness would have spared us the immaturity of _some_."

There was just enough impatience in the room while waiting for Kairi to join the lecture the boys had started getting antsy. It started with Lea then infected the others. Even Riku, the most grounded of the four of them when it came to silliness was joking with the others. Rachel was also there. Most of the magical knowledge Merlin had to share she already knew, either from their early training or what he knew she was learning at the training castle. But Merlin still had a lot up his sleeve to teach. So when he had a new lesson he thought she could benefit from, he made sure to call her over.

But the boys were still goofing around. The four of them were sitting in a row against the wall, backwards on a chair, on a pile of books and not really paying attention. Imagine, if you will, getting an energetic group of five year olds to focus. Rachel was always one to goof around like a big kid too, but there was a completely different dynamic when teenage guys act like they have the maturity of first graders. They hadn't included her and she was getting irritated they hadn't straightened up now that the lesson was supposed to begin.

"Will you clowns keep quiet! Some of us are interested in today's lesson!" Rachel said sharply.

"Thank you, my dear." Merlin said a little stiffly, visibly annoyed with the boys.

Lea made a long series of squeaky kiss noises with his lips at her, his way of calling her a kiss-up to the teacher.

"Lea!" Merlin warned. "One more pucker out of you and those lips will never walk again!"

"Yeah!" Kairi defended. "Zip it! I want to hear this too."

This invoked the response of _all_ four boys making the same kiss-up calls at her.

"O-oh! Stuff it!" Was the best response she could come up with when flustered. " _Merlin_!"

"May I?" Rachel said harshly.

"Of course!" Merlin told her.

"Wait, do what?" Sora asked, realizing Merlin just gave her permission to do something without asking what it was she intended to do. That in itself implied he didn't care so long as it helped progress the lesson.

Suddenly all four of them had their smiles wiped clean off when Rachel said a few magic words on them. Instantly the wall was covered big puffs of sparkly blue cloud, leaving only helplessly flopping fish behind.

"What did you do!"

"Not cool!"

With a wave of his walking stick, Merlin made a big bowl of water appear. Rachel and Kairi hurriedly scooped them up and dropped them into the bowl.

"Stop wiggling!" Rachel scolded, trying to pick Sora up.

"You turned me into _a fish_!"

"That's what you get for goofing around in class." Kairi said, dropping Riku into the bowl.

With their friends quietly contained, Rachel and Kairi once again got comfortable in their chairs. Merlin muttered a bit about how he could finally get the lesson underway now that the childishness was over. The boys weren't at all happy with the arrangement but it at least kept them quiet. Rachel and Kairi gave each other a quiet fist-bump of victory as the lesson began. Sometimes all it took was a bit of girl power.


	8. Relationships

As one might expect with large groups of friends, different dynamics between the key bearers began to emerge to anyone observing. Their skill as a fighting unit was growing stronger by the day; as was how the individuals interacted with each other when not training.

Sora, Riku and Kairi were the unshakable trio: always supportive, always loyal and always there for each other. Still, the relationships within the triad were always changing yet remaining the same. Sora and Riku always were and always would be best friends. But Sora and Kairi cared about each other much more than just as friends. Riku and Kairi were also very close and cared for one another but not in the same way.

Of course, little needed to be said about the direction of Rachel and Riku's relationship.

Kairi and Lea were the newest members of the Keyblade club but were getting along fine. Kairi dismissed what Lea had done as Axel completely. She never mentioned it or gave any indication she held it against him. They got along fine and frequently sparred together. To a witness this was rather strange considering the dramatic height difference. But they both found it beneficial. As it was true with all battles, opponents came in all sizes. Kairi found ways of using her height and graceful carriage to her advantage. Even though Lea could be wicked fast, she could easily slip by him if she was paying attention. After fighting often led to talking while catching their breath.

Bryan and Kairi's relationship was a little different. He didn't openly talk about himself much. But Kairi had the calm and trusting personality so that he started spilling before he even knew he was talking. Kairi knew more things about him than most of his other friends would at that stage of the friendship. And Kairi knew anything she told Bryan would be kept safe in a deep fortress and never be betrayed for any reason.

Kairi and Rachel were best friends right off the bat. Their gal pal relationship was obvious from the day they first met. Then they were given the opportunity to train, learn and grow as warriors of Light from and with each other. Kairi loved Sora and Riku as her oldest friends. But there were some things girls just don't want to share with their guy friends. The two girls talked about anything and everything under the sun. It was Kairi who first showed Rachel around the main island on which she lived, not just the little one where kids played. Similarly, Rachel brought her to Radiant Garden as frequently as she could. It helped their friendship to grow closer to one another while showing each other their homes.

Although there was no need, Lea sometimes overcompensated around Sora because of the trouble he caused as Axel. Sora had forgotten all about the events at Castle Oblivion, but Lea had not. Looking back especially he wanted to make up for how the Organization toyed with his heart, what he did, and the only thing he did to stop it was only under orders. Sora obviously never knew this but that didn't mean Lea try.

And Lea had to remind himself sometimes Sora wasn't Roxas. His old friend was gone; rejoined with his Original. He would never be able to see or speak with Roxas again. That knowledge hurt deeply. Roxas was gone and Isa's fate was still uncertain. You're always grateful for the friends you do have, but you still hold special places in your heart for the ones you don't; a place that is theirs and theirs alone.

But that didn't mean that Sora and Lea didn't have a very real friendship of their own. They got along great and were becoming a really good battle team. Along with becoming good friends, Sora wasn't so blind to not notice how Lea would look at him from time to time; perhaps hoping to catch a glimpse of Roxas, to perhaps share one more joke or say a proper goodbye. Sora was also understandably curious to learn more about his Nobody. Not only that, he thought it might make Lea feel better to talk about his old friend. Some of the things Lea told him made some things make clearer sense to Sora; like their tradition of eating sea salt ice cream on the clock tower in the evenings and getting the special stick meant a prize. It clicked. When he met Rachel and Bryan for the first time, Kairi had brought popsicles one evening. His popsicle stick was covered with stars. When he saw that, he felt joyous and at the time he didn't know why. Now it made sense. Roxas was no longer a true, physical person anymore, but that didn't mean slivers of his soul weren't very much alive within Sora. In this sense, Sora wanted to do something to honor that. So one evening Sora invited Lea to the Tower's rooftop where he had a small cooler box of popsicles. The gesture was greatly appreciated and from then on became their thing.

Rachel and Sora were terrible together. Given any amount of time alone they instantly became first graders. That shouldn't have been that big of a surprise. Sora was an easy-going person who knew when to act his age but typically didn't if he didn't have to. And Rachel, despite her powers and unique ways of thinking, was still just a big kid at heart. So together they were pretty much unsupervised grade-schoolers with unlimited tokens at Chuck-E-Cheese. Lea nearly got his feet crushed one time when they went barreling down the hallway, taking turns pushing each other on a wheel-y chair. Another time Riku found Sora lying down inside of a huge cardboard box inside a random side room.

"What are you doing?" Riku asked, looking in on him.

"Thinking. Can't you see this is my thinking box?" Sora tapped on the side where he had written in bold letters, SORA'S THINKING MACHINE.

"Seriously, how old are you?"

"Rachel says, 'there's no point being grown up if you can't act childish sometimes'."

"Sora, I'm saying this as your friend, but _you never grew up_!"

"Did I hear my name?" Rachel popped her head into the room.

Sora got up on his knees to see over the edge. "Riku says I'm too old to be playing in boxes."

"Where did you get that?"

"What?"

"That box, where did you get it?"

"Why? Is it yours?"

"No, where did you find it?"

"In the next room, why?"

"Were there more?"

"Yeah, a whole lot."

"Wanna make a box fort?"

"YES!"

Riku rolled his eyes after Sora bolted passed him. An hour later they'd built a box palace with a drawbridge that actually worked and claimed only the noble of heart and virtuous of soul were permitted to enter.

Bryan and Lea formed the bachelor coalition; as they were the only ones of the team without a sweetheart. But that was ok, that just left them each free to be the others wingman if the need ever arose. Bryan's relationship with Lea was probably the most mature (although possibly a close tie with Riku). They liked their silliness and having fun but didn't need it to stay interested in what the other had to say. Bryan also had the opportunity to grown and learn about himself with Lea. It was easily forgotten sometimes that, while still considered a young man, Lea was the oldest of all of them by about eight to ten years. Age and a whole different set of experiences provided him with unique perspectives about a lot. They each helped nudge the other out of their comfort zones to meet new people, try new things and visit new places.

It was on Lea's insistence Bryan visited his first club. Not at all the rowdy party-hardy nightclub sort of set up (like what most people think of when they hear 'club', Radiant Garden wasn't exactly the place for that sort of thing) but certainly a place for the young to gather and socialize with music and good company. Bryan had never been to any place like it before. The nearest comparison for him was the Benbow Inn, but there he already knew Jim, B.E.N and Jim's mom and got to ease himself into knowing the regulars. Not to mention the atmosphere was totally different. Lea saw this as a potential problem when Bryan made no attempt to interact with anybody. Bryan wasn't the shy type but rarely initiated conversation or interaction in a place he was unfamiliar with. Winging it with new people when on a mission was totally different than in a social setting. It wasn't until Lea gave him a nudge to use the drum set on stage when the band took a break did Bryan relax. And Lea thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen when he pointed out several girls were eyeing him afterward. Bryan liked the subtle attention but had no idea how to proceed and not be an awkward mess at the same time. Between snorts and wheezes of subdued laughter Lea promised they'd keep coming back until Bryan could smooth-talk any girl who smiled his way without freezing with awkwardness.

As it was shaping out, the friendship between Lea and Rachel was becoming the most dynamic. For example:

After the incident with the cream cheese and flour, several more summer camp capers were put in play between Lea and Rachel. The day after the flour bucket, Lea put crushed pinecones in the seat cushion on the chair he saw Rachel use the previous morning, assuming correctly she had a seat she'd designated as her own.

Of course her retaliation solidified in his mind the Master was in fact the spawn of Satan and the young empress of all evil just waiting to come of age and claim her throne. The next morning Lea discovered Rachel had gotten into his room that night and…it was almost too horrible to admit. She'd put several wax strips on his lower legs then bailed. Come the next morning, there was only one way to get them off. How could girls do that to themselves! _Willingly_! Were they all secretly masochists for the sake of beauty?!

At breakfast, Lea was (understandably) the last to show up. Dang that hurt. Once he got to the kitchen, Lea marched straight to Rachel. Oh she had a lot of nerve to munch her cinnamon bun so casually after what she'd done. He had the attention of everybody in the room. They probably suspected this was because of another prank and were waiting to see what happened.

Lea came up behind Rachel and put a hand on each shoulder; a lot like giving somebody a massage but a lot harder than necessary. With his face very close to hers he whispered in a low growl of promise,

" _This means war_."

Rachel turned her head toward him.

"Bring it on, cookie-puss, 'cuz I ain't scared of you."

"Oh you will be. Rest assured _you will_ be."

So Lea and Rachel had officially declared war on each other. This had all the potential of spiraling out of control quickly. Lea left the kitchen (not before swiping the apple muffin Rachel was going to eat). He didn't look back. Good thing too. Rachel was glaring at him something awful for having stolen part of her breakfast. After a second she composed herself and finished her bun in silence. The other four eyed her quietly, wondering how she could keep so calm and collect after the theft of food. Probably keeping herself more occupied with planning her next move.

Nobody else dared say anything. All they could do is hope and pray nobody got caught in the crossfire. From then on, everyone had to check under every mat, behind every door and tread carefully whenever the two were around each other.

But despite the growing intensity of the prank war, the two were becoming fast friends. It was strange to observe how they kept their feelings as friends separate from exacting revenge for a prank. They'd talk and hang out like they'd known each other for years then, within hours, one would place a hand buzzer on the back of the others neck or an ice cube down the back of the others shirt.

One time Kairi found them watching old movies in one of the Tower rooms that not only frequently changed what was inside it but also where it could be found (it had been enchanted by a past student ages ago to take on the needs of those around it and appear in random places. Only the door thought it was funny and would sometimes move to another floor while you were in it (until Master Yen Sid spelled it that it couldn't move while someone was inside it)). This time it was like a rec room. It was odd the first time the friends found one of the convenience rooms and it had a considerable amount of technology in it. It was the last thing they'd expected in a Tower of magic. But, as it was magic it could accommodate anything for its inhabitants.

Kairi slipped into the room where Lea and Rachel were watching an old black and white movie. The lights were off. She could only just make her way to the couch without tripping over anything. The princess stood behind the couch and observed what her friends were doing in silence. They both were lounging on the sofa. Lea held a huge bowl of popcorn (heavily buttered judging by the smell) with his feet up on the coffee table. He'd tilt the bowl Rachel's way if she made a move that she wanted some. A big bottle of soda was on the table with two glass cups next to it.

The film was supposed to be a horror story. But the acting was so horrible it was funny. They frequently commented on just how bad it was but didn't stop watching. They were in agreement that only the one actor of the whole cast could actually act.

"What're you watching?" Kairi finally asked.

Her timing couldn't be more perfect. At the same time she spoke, the film had led up to a big startle scene, where a sudden movement on screen, climactic music and the actress screaming and Kairi speaking all lined up, scaring the living daylights, comatose daylights, dead daylights and undead daylight out of both of them. Popcorn went _everywhere_.

"How long have you been there!"

"Why did you do that!"

"Geesh!"

Lea and Rachel slumped back on the couch, catching their breath and recovering from the adrenaline blitz. They'd worry about the popcorn later.

"So what is this?"

"It's called The House on Haunted Hill." Lea had slumped heavily on the couch, intently focused on getting his blood pressure back to normal.

Kairi sat on the back of the couch for the remainder of the film. It was indeed a terrible movie with bad acting and pot holes you could drop a tractor into. But, like Rachel and Lea, she couldn't stop watching. Lea refused to share any popcorn with her. It was her fault most of it spilled in the first place.

" _Good night, doctor. Good night, Annabelle. The crime you two planned was indeed perfect. Only the victim is alive and the murderers are not. It's a pity you didn't know when you started your game of murder…that I was playing too."_

The actor who played Mr. Loren was the favorite of the whole show. He'd just used a fake skeleton on puppeteer strings to back his murderess wife into a vat of acid. The movie ended with the other characters finally breaking into the locked cellar where Mr. Loren gave his final speech and departed. Then the crazy guy came forward, looking warily into the bubbling vat.

" _Now they're nine. They'll be more, many more."_ *sounds of footsteps and chains rattling* _"They'll be coming for me now. And then they'll come for you_!"

And the movie ended.

"What the heck was that!"

"That can't be it."

"That's the end?"

"So all that spooky stuff was just the two of them trying to kill that guy?"

Rachel had been cleaning up the popcorn magically as they talked about how the movie ended.

"Was the house not actually haunted?"

"The crazy guy seemed to think so."

"But he's crazy and paranoid, of course he's going to think so."

"But why couldn't there be a nefarious plot and the supernatural? That would really make it interesting."

"Totally. They just played this place up as a house of horror with a reputation for murder and everything was set up."

There was a pause.

"Want to watch another one?" Lea asked.

"Yes!" Rachel and Kairi said together.

Rachel picked up another bag of popcorn that was on the corner of the table and a big wire-mesh bowl that had been propped up against the side.

"Ooooh! More popcorn! But what's that for?" Kairi asked, indicating the mesh.

"Watch! Watch this, this is great!"

Rachel poured the popcorn seeds into the big glass bowl and covered it with the mesh. Lea picked up the bowl in his right hand and held it up. His hand glowed orange. His hand almost appeared translucent with only shadows of bone showing through his skin. A few seconds later the first kernel popped. Then another, and another. The mesh was to catch any kernels that went flying when they popped. When the last kernel popped, Rachel handed Lea the bottle of melted butter that had also been left on the table. He held onto the bowl with his left hand while his right hand warmed the butter before drizzling it over the treat.

"That was the most practical use of magic I have ever seen." Kairi said, in awe of the redneck-style brilliance.

"Thank you."

Rachel got the next movie set up while Kairi used a bit of magic to get another glass. Kairi refilled all their drinks.

"Ok, Stretch," Rachel said to Lea. "Scoot."

" _Excuse_ me?"

"If you're going to hold the popcorn you'll have to sit in the middle."

"Classic old movies, popcorn, drinks and two beautiful ladies at my side? I can think of a lot worse ways to spend an evening."


	9. Medicated

As one might imagine, Master Yen Sid was remarkably knowledgeable in the ways of training future Keyblade Masters and wizardry. Just like any teacher, there were courses that _had_ to be taught. However, like most teachers, Yen Sid had his own preferred methods of getting a lesson learned. All his years guiding Keyblade Masters and future sorcerers taught him what methods worked well or what worked only in special instances, etc. For example, the first lesson Yen Sid taught Rachel and Bryan when they began their training was to get comfortable going all-out while training against friendly targets. As far as the sorcerer was aware, he was the only one he was aware of who ever stressed this method of training.

So when Sora, Riku, Kairi and Lea officially began their apprenticeship, some of those unique training methods started to surprise them. Master Yen Sid apologized several times throughout the Keyblade training for how quickly the team had to go through everything. But everything he presented was important…even if it was a little unorthodox. They weren't training under the Sorcerer very long when they experienced this.

Master Yen Sid gathered them all in his study one morning. He held a metal box, hardly bigger than a jewelry box when they arrived. Rachel and Bryan took one look at the box, gasped in unison, turned themselves into birds then hid behind a small statue on a bookshelf.

"What's the matter with those two?" Lea asked to no one.

"They know what this is." The old sorcerer said. "However their reaction is unnecessary. for them"

"So what is it?" Sora asked.

Master Yen Sid explained how inside the box was a very rare and very potent powder. It had only one use: to make you sick. Something the sorcerer discovered over the years was that the biggest thing apart from inexperience, under or overconfidence or irrationality in the field that caused problems while on a quest, mission or otherwise was trying to overcome those hurdles while trying not to throw up. Yes, the fate of the world may be on your shoulders but it's a little hard to play hero when you're so feverish you can't walk straight. Yes, you can easily use magic to speed healing after getting your appendix removed, but nothing is as good as natural healing.

As odd as it sounded, 'germ warfare' was not unheard of in battle, magic or otherwise. Yen Sid regaled them of a battle a long time ago on a far off world. It was a fight of magic and brawn. One side took up hiding in a cave system where the enemy had them cornered. They didn't have the proper supplies to make an advance and reinforcements wouldn't arrive for some time. So, to buy some time, the head wizard and a few choice soldiers snuck into the enemy camp and spiked the food and water with a magic powder that caused all who ate even a speck of it to become terribly allergic to most plants for several weeks. While they were away, the remaining troops worked vigorously, planting all sorts of weeds and flowers across the grounds of their camps. When the enemy made its advance, they had to retreat almost immediately because every known allergy symptom flared up and they couldn't fight. They couldn't make their move for over a week until the season was over for the plants. By then the reinforcements had arrived and the troops had been properly resupplied.

So everyone was required to give the powder a sniff. By the next day they'd start feeling the first symptoms. There'd be a special room for them in the time it took for the magic to run its course. Rachel and Bryan took their friends to that room. They didn't have anything to worry about. The stuff was like the chicken pox, once you went through it, you never got it again.

"So you guys went through all this too?" Lea asked them.

"Yep." Bryan said. "Not at all a walk in the park."

"Worst eight days of my life." Rachel did not look back on the memory fondly.

"Only six for me!" Bryan teased her.

"Shut up!"

"So what _exactly_ happens?" Kairi asked cautiously.

"That stuff brings out every sickness symptom." Bryan said. "Your immune system needs to be flared up in order to build it up stronger."

"What do you mean by 'every symptom'?" Sora asked. He started looking very unsure about this whole thing.

"Runny, stuffy nose, coughing, hacking, throwing up, stiffness, that feeling where your skin feels all weird, sleeplessness, exhaustion…to name a few."

Lea gave Bryan a dirty look. "You don't need to sound so obvious you're glad it's us and not you."

Bryan shrugged with a smile of false innocence.

"That's not all," Rachel added.

"Oh great." Riku said. "It doesn't get worse, does it?"

"Well not really _worse_ but there is lots to do."

"What else is there?" Sora asked.

"All kinds of things to make sure you can't get sick or anything internally wrong with you that might hold you up with recovery time."

"Like?"

"Well, after you're all feeling better there's this potion that makes your appendix kinda get digested into your insides so it can never flare up. Another does wonders for your kidneys and gall bladder, as those are both common organs that act up."

"You wouldn't know it," Bryan said, he reached behind his back as far as he could and rubbed his spine. "But I had a mild case of scoliosis before I came here. Masters' magic straightened me right up."

"We don't have our wisdom teeth anymore either." Rachel rubbed her jaw.

"Wisdom teeth? What kind of a precaution is that?" Kairi asked.

"It's possible for people to be controlled by strong enough magic users if they possess a piece of them. A lock of hair is the easiest to get without actually removing anything like a finger or an ear. Only problem is, hair is a potent regent only for a short time. Removed appendages shrivel and decay. The power of control weakens after a while. Wisdom teeth are removable, more substantial and come from _within_ the body, all points making them the ideal control item and they don't wither or anything."

"That's really a thing?" Lea asked.

"Oh the things you guys get to learn." Bryan said.

"But wouldn't it work with any tooth?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but for some reason not as well." Rachel answered.

"It doesn't hurt to get your wisdom teeth removed, does it?" Kairi absentmindedly put her hand to her jaw.

"Excruciating."

"Bryan! He's lying. It doesn't hurt at all." Rachel said, reassuringly.

"How does it work?"

"Master Yen Sid does it. You sit in a comfortable chair, Master uses a sleep spell, you're only out for less than five minutes. When you wake up again, all you've got is this dull ache in your jaw. Otherwise, the teeth are gone, the gums are healed and you can use a straw immediately."

"What does he do with them?"

"They're destroyed into powder so no one could ever find and use them against you."

"Bit extreme, isn't it?" Riku asked.

"Well you wouldn't want to risk someone finding them, would you?" Bryan said to him.

"And it's also for the Master too." Rachel said.

"Why's that?" Lea asked.

"Master Yen Sid told us about a wizard who kept the wisdom teeth of his apprentices after he said he'd gotten rid of them. He played puppet master for years, subtly controlling them so they wouldn't get suspicious. Oh boy, was his punishment severe when he was found out."

"Wow."

"At least this whole thing is thorough." Kairi said, weighing the pros and cons. "Because I hate being sick."

"Don't worry. Best medical plan you could ask for," Bryan said. "After of course your sinuses clear and you can keep food down."

"Thanks for that."

"But after that you can never get sick?" Sora asked.

"Mostly." Rachel said. "Mind you it is very, very rare but you could get the occasional bad cold."

"All that precaution and you can still get the most basic of illness?" Lea said.

"Nobody has found the magic yet to destroy the common cold."

"That makes no sense."

"I know."

* * *

The room set up for them was like a sick bay. The beds were staggered, two facing one wall, two facing the other. With just a bit of magic a curtain would roll between them so it was like they each had their own private space. With the curtain drawn there was no sound unless you deliberately wanted to be heard (since no one is particularly fond of making their friends hear them throw up). There were windows for fresh air and sunlight. The walls were bare but enchanted, as they would find out soon.

The next morning the powder had taken affect completely. And everyone felt miserable. The only thought that kept their hopes up was that after this they'd never feel that way again. Six to eight days, huh? Bleh. This was really gonna suck. And it did. Not only was being sick lousy but there wasn't a lot for them to do in the times where they were tired of sleeping. Talking was hard at times if sore throats flared up. Reading was hard when feverish and unable to see straight.

Thankfully the walls at least gave them something to see. In one corner a piece of red and gold trim went from floor to ceiling. The gold pieces glowed and unleashed a long stream of images that moved along the walls. Every day it was a little different. The first morning it started with a gush of water. It was like watching a big aquarium fill up. After that, little pink and orange flecks appeared. It was a cloud of krill. The krill swam across the walls until they went all the way around and went back into the red trim. A school of little fish followed the krill cloud. After the small fish was a school of tuna. A shark swam in and out of the school trying to catch them. The scene went all the way up the food chain with different groups of animals. When the seals entered the scene, everything started moving from water to land. The rocky shores of the seals became the cliff side nests of sea birds. Then the rocks became a mountain where they began seeing mountain sheep butting heads and chasing each other. It certainly had a soothing affect to watch, especially when they had a different scene to look forward to every day.

Rachel and Bryan stopped in to break the monotony. One day, Rachel came in with a tea tray following her.

"Anybody asleep?"

"No." Riku muttered.

"What is that?" Sora asked. "It's hard to smell right now."

"Greetings, friends! I bring exactly what you need to brighten your day!"

"A shotgun? You're takin' me out back, right?"

"That's good Lea, keep up a sense of humor and you'll be fine."

"So what do you have there?" Kairi sat up on her bed but slouched forward while hugging a big pillow.

"Just the thing to make being sick more bearable. Feel-good food!"

Rachel came to each of their beds with the tray following close behind. In the center was a fat, steaming taurine. The vine-y decorations in the porcelain unwove themselves and the taurine stood up, dipping its spout into the bowls Rachel held in front of it.

"Oh! Oh, oh! What is that?" Sora ached but he was eager to see what she had.

"Chicken soup! Made it myself."

Everybody got a hot bowl and a small plate of tiny buttered biscuits.

"So what day is this?" Kairi asked. Oooooh, hot soup felt so good.

"Tuesday."

"I don't think that's what she means." Riku said. He hadn't started eating yet and went with prolonged periods with his eyes closed.

"Day four."

"So two to four more days of this?" Sora whined.

"If you're lucky."

"What do you mean?"

"The powder technically takes five to ten days."

" _You watch your mouth_!" Lea warned. Done as early as tomorrow? Great. Almost another week? Blech!

"So what about the whole appendix and tooth thing?" Sora asked. He'd finished his soup then curled up in his pillows and blankets like a puffy cocoon.

"That will be right after this is over. Hey, Riku," Rachel cooed. She sat on his bedside. "How're you feeling?"

"Lousy," He said quietly.

Rachel brushed his hair away and put her hand on his forehead. Her cool hands felt really good.

"My mom used to kiss my forehead when I got sick."

So she leaned over and kissed his forehead. Not to check his temperature but just to make him smile.

"Comfortable? Need anything?"

"Just tired."

"Eating something might help."

Riku sighed. "I don't know if I can sit up."

"I could get another pillow."

"That'd work."

"Will you just ask her to feed you already?" Lea coughed. He wasn't at his best manners-wise when he didn't feel too great. "Beating around the bush is such an unattractive trait."

"Oh shut up."

"Do you want me to?" Rachel asked Riku. She tried not to giggle when Riku flushed and it wasn't from the fever. But she also kinda surprised herself that she'd said that.

Sora was trying so hard to keep his snickers to himself he sent himself into a coughing fit.

Riku turned and scowled at him. "Sometimes I really don't like you."

That only made it worse. It's an interesting sound to be laughing and wheezing at the same time.

When Rachel left, the tea tray remained behind. The taurine was enchanted to keep the soup hot in case anybody wanted some more. When Lea finished with his bowl, he took aim and threw his spoon at Riku.

"Ow!" The aim was true and the spoon nailed him squarely on the head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Half-stepper!"

"What?"

"You aren't feeling half as bad as you played up to your girlfriend! You just wanted her to feel sorry for you so you could be babied!" There was a fair amount of throat-clearing as he talked.

"Did I?" Riku asked with an obvious air of false innocence. Lea couldn't see it since their beds were facing away from each other, but Riku played up the expression of being shocked and appalled Lea would suggest such a thing.

"Don't give me that. You preyed upon her maternal helper side so she'd fuss over you."

"You're just jealous you don't _have_ a girlfriend to fuss over you."

Sora and Kairi made quiet "Ooooooh," sounds, the kind reserved for when somebody gets burned.

"Oh, both of you be qui- _hyat_!" Lea coughed.

The conversation went quiet after that. Not because there wasn't more to say (as there was definitely more to say but Riku just sorta fell asleep again and Lea lost his voice shortly after.


	10. Showtime Shines

"You just had to go jump right in didn't you!"

"It wasn't my fault! If you hadn't tripped!"

"How are we supposed to get over this?"

"We wouldn't have to worry about it at all if-!"

"Guys!" Kairi had to shout to get her friends attention. She held up a little rolled up scroll she found with instructions for the next stage of the challenge.

Sora, Kairi, Lea and Bryan were running a Mini Quest together. Rachel was at the training castle doing her own thing. Master Yen Sid had Riku on another project to further expand his own skills as a Keyblade Master.

Currently, the boys were pointing fingers at each other for whose fault it was that a massive boulder slipped off a mountain side and crashed squarely in front of the path. The trail they were to follow led through a canyon. With rock on each side, there was no way to go around. But the trail was the only way to progress.

"What does it say, Kairi?" Sora asked her.

She unrolled the scroll and read aloud, "'By now you're probably placing blame on one another for the displacement of the boulder that is now blocking your path.'"

"He did that on purpose!"

"'This was supposed to happen. Your next task will be to remove the boulder in order to continue. You may do so any way you see fit. The boulder may not be scaled. It must be removed, even if it is only far enough to get through.'"

"So now we have to move a small mountain." Lea thought aloud.

"Great. Any ideas?" Sora asked.

"Breaking it apart would take a long time, wouldn't it?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, but it would still be possible." Bryan said.

"Hey," Sora said to Bryan. "You carry your pixie dust with you all the time, right? Think we could just make the thing float away?"

"For something this size? It would take _a lot_."

"So what should we try?"

"I'm just here to observe mostly. I know what I'd do; you just need to figure things out for yourself."

"Ok, so we brainstorm."

"Breaking the rock apart with our Keyblades is a possibility." Kairi said again, "But realistically doing the same thing in real life is time consuming and exhausting. If we're ever in a real world situation, that wouldn't be the most efficient way to do it."

"True." Sora agreed.

"You guys know what happens when you put a hot glass in ice water, right?" Lea asked them.

"Yeah," Sora said. "It breaks, right?"

"What if we super-heat the rock then freeze it? That'll make it fracture and easier to break apart."

"But will the four of us have strong enough Ice magic to freeze it fast enough to make it happen?" Kairi asked.

Bryan stood back the whole time while the other three talked out how to move the boulder. He didn't say much unless directly spoken to. They were coming up with reasonable ideas. There was no rule saying he couldn't participate in the quest. It was more for the benefit of his friends that he gave them the room to come up with their own conclusions. But he also really wanted to try his own idea.

"Kay, guys. Great ideas. I'll take this one if you want."

"Oh? What is your idea?" Kairi asked.

"You couldn't have spoken up sooner?" Lea said, a little annoyed.

"I can get this boulder out of the way no sweat."

"How?" Sora asked.

"Just step back and watch the master at work."

Bryan rolled his shoulders and held out his hand. With a blink of light he called his Keyblade. He strode his way to the boulder with a significant amount of swagger when he was forced to stop dead. Lea had made a very loud, disbelieving sputter that masked a laugh. But the real laughing immediately followed.

" _What_?"

"What is _that_?"

"One of my Keyblades!"

"It looks like a child's toy!"

Lea found the whimsical appearance of Showtime very amusing. Not that he wasn't justified. The shaft of the Keyblade were two interwoven ribbons and the teeth were three balloons. The colors were mostly pastels and the key chain was a cone of pink cotton candy. It was also the shortest weapon Bryan had. He didn't use Showtime often because he preferred mid, to long-range weapons and partly because it did kinda look like a carnival prize.

After their adventures in the Dream Worlds, Master Yen Sid offered him and his sister to choose how they wanted their training to continue. Bryan wanted to become a better swordsman and learn the hidden talents of his various Keyblades. Despite Showtime's appearance, it packed a punch that surprised even him when he discovered it. And that talent was perfect for this particular challenge.

So Lea was hung up on appearances then? Fine. Let's see how fast that smirk vanished once Showtime completely owned this challenge.

Bryan jumped and caught himself in flight. No problems. He wasn't trying to use his flight ability to get over the boulder so it didn't violate any rules of the challenge. Bryan dove at the boulder then held his Keyblade with both hands. He arched his back and swung the blade back so far it almost touched his ankles. The swing when he struck the boulder would have made the legend John Henry himself tip his hat. On contact there was no sound, only an uncomfortable feeling as the nearby pressure rapidly changed and everyone's ears popped. Then came the part that really made Lea stop laughing.

The boulder just sort of deflated; reduced to ultra-fine sand.

Bryan landed with the grace of a butterfly. His three friends staring blankly at the remains of the boulder. He smirked at Lea's dumbfounded look that anyone or anything could do such a thing to a rock that size. With a little bit of Wind magic, Bryan pushed just enough sand out of the way so they could pass. Then he laid Showtime across his shoulders, slinging his arms over either end.

"Showtime's really good at hitting things." He stated simply. "So what are we waiting for? Let's see what's next."


	11. The Mantis Shrimp

"Riku, no pets allowed at lecture." Merlin scolded.

"It's not a pet, it's Rachel."

" _Again_?"

At Merlin's weekly lecture, Riku came in the room with a large fishbowl with a strange creature inside that was in fact no fish.

"What is she this time? A lobster?" Lea leaned back in his usual chair with his feet up on a stack of books. He looked up as high as he could inside the bowl without getting up.

"I think she called it a mantis shrimp."

"Well I prefer that all my students have human ears for the lecture please." Merlin said.

"That's what I said but she won't change back."

Riku put the bowl on a stool next to where he was going to sit and everyone else peered in to get a look at the new form Rachel had chosen. Ever since she'd mastered basic transfiguration, Rachel had fallen in love with the magic and had advanced its power quickly so she could try more shapes. Today was a mantis shrimp, a little sea critter that looked like an even cross between a shrimp, lobster and…whatever. She had several long antennae, lots of legs, big buggy eyes and two strange club-like appendages under the main front legs.

"That's really weird." Sora couldn't help but comment. Not like he was not justified. Both eyes could move and pivot independently. Like a chameleon only more bizarre.

"Did she happen to say _why_ she didn't want to change back?" Kairi asked. She was glad Rachel liked to use her magic and was good at it, but she couldn't understand why her friend was reluctant to give up the form of a funny little shrimp.

"She _can_ , right?" Bryan asked.

"Rachel, all present must be in their natural shapes please." Merlin said.

Rachel-shrimp went up the side of the bowl but slid back down because shrimp feet didn't get a lot of traction on glass.

"She says she can hear just fine."

"How do you know that?" Sora asked Riku.

Riku pointed out a tiny jeweled clip he had on the upper rim of his ear. "Rachel gave me this so I can hear her speak telepathically when she's something that can't talk."

"Rachel, now." Merlin told her with a that's-final tone.

Rachel-shrimps features positively wilted with disappointment but got out of the bowl and changed back anyway. Riku had to take her arm for a second as the Master swayed a bit, strangely disoriented after the spell ended. Then she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, pouting.

"Mind telling us exactly what that was all about?" Lea asked.

"That was such an amazing experience." She said with a pouty lip.

"You were a shrimp." Sora pointed out.

Lea stood up and put his hand to her forehead. "No fever so her brain should be working right."

"Here, I'll show you!"

"Hey!"

Rachel took Lea by the wrist and cast her spell again, jumping back into the fishbowl with him.

"Honestly!" Archimedes huffed from his usual perch by his little house. "We have a schedule to keep!"

So both Rachel and Lea were in the fish bowl together as mantis shrimp. Whenever any of them were in animal forms, they tended to stick to the same color schemes. Rachel was always some shade of lavender or purple. Bryan and Sora typically were some color of brown to match their hair. Kairi was pink, Riku silver-gray to blue and Lea was always bright red. Being a shrimp was no different. And a peacock mantis shrimp is dressed like a clown anyway. Rachel-shrimp was looking at Lea-shrimp expectantly. Even as a bizarre crustacean, her 'So? what do you think?' posture spoke for itself. Lea-shrimp was frozen, stunned. Not a leg or antennae so much as micro-twitched. As he began to show signs of life he began to move like he was amazed but also a bit freaked out. His invertebrate body language spoke volumes when he discovered his eyes could move independently. Then they both started scurrying about the bowl and brushed each other with their antennae and moved their freaky eyes about in unison, apparently having a very interesting conversation. But since Rachel wasn't directing her thoughts to Riku he had no idea what they were saying.

"That's it." Merlin was a fair teacher but they'd clowned around enough. With a wave of his walking stick he changed them both back and made the bowl vanish.

Just like Rachel had when she turned back for the first time, Lea swayed on the spot, disoriented.

"Oh come on!" He complained as soon as whatever knocked his equilibrium off-kilter fixed itself. "She was just explaining what those bowling ball legs were for!"

" _Why_ was that so cool!" Kairi demanded. There had been such a fuss made over the whole thing but no one had yet explained why being a shrimp thing was so fascinating.

"Oh…" Lea groaned as he looked around the room, looking as if he might cry. "It's like seeing things in black and white."

"The next sentence better be an explanation!" Bryan said with an edge to his voice that sounded dangerously like a threat.

Rachel was beaming. "The mantis shrimp has sexnocular vison-."

"Dirty science."

"Shut up, Lea. It means it has _three_ lenses or pupils on each eye."

"So you were seeing six pictures of the world at once?" Sora asked, amazed and curious what that would look like.

"But that wasn't the best part!" Lea said.

"Oh no it wasn't!" Rachel agreed. "Human eyes can only see a three-color light spectrum, red, blue and yellow and every variation in between those three. The mantis shrimp can see _twelve_."

"If we can get back to todays _scheduled_ lesson," Merlin said, getting impatient. "You can ask your questions later."

Needless to say everyone was biting their tongues to get a full explanation to what seeing twelve color wavelengths was like. But they had to take their seats as Merlin began his lecture. Before he began, Lea leaned over to Rachel.

"We can do that again, right?"

"Anytime you want. But next time we'll go to the ocean, not just a fishbowl."

"Right after the lecture?"

"You know it."

"It's a date then."

" _No talking in class please!"_


	12. Portrait Prank

"So just how far down do you want me to strip?" Lea teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes and answered with a dry, 'You already know the answer to that question' look. She shuffled with a huge drawing pad to place it lengthwise on an easel. Rachel picked up a few more utensils from a jar and pulled up a stool. The drawing pad was big enough he could barely see her behind it. It was about that time Sora stuck his head in to see what was going on.

"Hi guys, what's up?"

"Rachel's going to draw me."

"Really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised!" Lea demanded. "I'm a _fascinating_ subject."

"Yes, really." Rachel answered like she hadn't heard him. "But if I'm to capture his ego properly I'll need a bigger piece of paper."

"Maybe the side of a barge?" Sora suggested.

"Shut up!"

"I think you might be on to something." Rachel answered. "Got one handy?"

"No. Then again, the barge would only be good for drawing his head. For his ego I think you'll need a mountainside."

"A huge etching of Lea on a mountainside? Absolutely not. I'm not in the business of traumatizing children from great distances."

"Hey!"

"Shut up and pose."

"Where do you want me?"

"That couch is fine."

"Ok," Lea dropped himself on the couch against the wall and stretched out like a cat. "Draw me like one of your French girls."

Lea heard Sora make a violent laughing snort from behind the drawing pad. It took a minute before Rachel said anything, suggesting she was laughing so hard it was inaudible. Eventually he could hear the scrit scrit of pencil on paper. Sora had also pulled up a chair next to her. All Lea could see of them were their legs from the knees down from behind the paper.

Rachel leaned over from her chair frequently. Sora occasionally did the same thing from the other side of the pad. There were a lot of scrit scrit noises of various drawing utensils. Lea wasn't sure how long he was there. Too bad there wasn't a clock on the opposite wall. Then again, maybe it was best. Knowing how long he'd been laying there might make it feel longer.

"You're not taking any 'artistic liberties' I hope." Lea warned.

"I might." Rachel said.

"So long as they're in the right places."

"You need to learn when to stop talking."

Another long silence fell with only the scrape of drawing tools as background noise. Sora would occasionally mutter something but Lea never quite heard what. If he was making suggestions of how to make his portrait look ridiculous, he'd throw him out of the nearest balcony.

"How much longer?" Lea asked.

"Stop talking, it makes your face look weird."

"Can't draw moving lips?"

"No, talking just makes your face look weird."

"You can't rush art." Sora said quickly before Lea could respond.

After what felt like forever, Rachel announced the sketch was finished. But before Lea could even stand up, both she and Sora were leaving. Quickly actually. They were gone before he could ask what the rush was. Thinking nothing could be the harm, Lea looked around on the other side of the easel.

" _ **Really**_!" Lea shouted out the door. He heard cackling down the hallway, rapidly getting softer, saying they were getting far away fast.

The paper was drawn upon all right, but the image was hardly a pencil sketch of his devilishly handsome self. Instead, it was covered with doodles, tic-tac-toe grids and several hangman platforms with phrases like _Shame on you ungrateful cow_ and _No power in the verse_. There was also a long chain of cartoons around the entire page with cutesy, simplified cartoon versions of Rachel and Sora. A few had them doing what looked like karaoke, dressed as pirates, figure skating in marshmallow-like coats and serving ice cream to squirrels wearing paper hats (the squirrels were the ones wearing the hats). Then there was another where they were chasing each other back and forth. First it was just a chase with Sora going after Rachel. Then it went the other way where Rachel was after him with a frying pan. Then Sora sending a jackalope after her. Then she chased him with an attack dog. He countered by charging in on the back of a bridled buffalo. Rachel won the chase cartoon when she carried off Sora and the buffalo on a dragon.

Lea was extremely unimpressed that he had lain motionless for so long for nothing. And they were certainly going to hear some choice words on the matter.

* * *

"I suppose you think that was _funny_."

Lea said coldly to Rachel and Sora when he caught up to them some time later. He came up behind them and knocked their heads together to express what he thought about their stunt.

"Ow!"

"Serves you both right!"

"Will you relax!" Rachel said, rubbing the side of her head.

"Of course not! How long was I sitting there, not daring to move a muscle while you two were _playing hangman_!"

"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked. She'd been sitting back, reading on a windowsill and listening to the whole thing but not understanding all of it.

So Sora told Kairi what they had done. She could understand why both sides were either upset or amused.

"Ok, ok," Rachel said. "I confess. I did do your drawing. Doodling with Sora was only an afterthought when he came in. So I did the real one with magic on another pad."

Even though she came clean, Lea still wasn't thrilled at being led to believe he'd been duped.

"Hey, c'mon, Lea. It was funny." Sora said. "Would you have passed up the chance to do the same thing to either of us?"

Lea made a noise and rolled his eyes before leaving back to the art room to find the real picture.

"He's plotting his revenge this very minute, isn't he?" Sora asked.

"Very possibly. Then again, maybe not after he sees the, as he put it, the 'artistic embellishments' I added to his picture."

"So you _did_ take 'artistic liberties'."

"Yes. But this will make him look really cool."

"Enough to take him off the warpath?"

"For our sake? I hope so."


	13. A Gentleman's Wager

***Just as a quick heads-up, the way I've gotten to know Lea as a character puts me in a hesitant situation. The way I've got my math figured, Lea is about 8-10 years older than everyone, the only one of the KH cast who is truly an 'adult' and over the age of 19. Now, while he has plenty of good points, I've pictured Lea to be the one to make more 'adult' comments from time to time. There will be absolutely nothing explicit said or done in these stories. Nothing will go all the way to a T rating. However, some things might try to nudge the line of K+. So just try to take it in stride and know it will not be a main part of regular dialogue and it will be mild. Thanks much, see you next chapter. ***

* * *

It hadn't gone unnoticed that Riku was spending an awful lot of time at the castle of sorcery with Rachel. He was by far the busiest out of all them. Riku had been doing all he could to excel at his new training as a Master, sparring and running through team training with everyone else, hanging out with his other friends and spending several hours with Rachel almost daily.

"I give it two weeks before he burns himself out completely." Lea said.

Sora, Bryan and Lea were lounging in the study wing of the Mysterious Towers library. Master Yen Sid wanted them all to be knowledgeable as well as strong. So as the day dwindled down, the hour before dinner time was devoted to reading. It also gave a chance to unwind for the evening.

Lea had always been one of those non-committal students who thought school was lame and hated doing assigned projects. Not much had changed when he grew up. He pointed out to Master Yen Sid that knowledge is power, but power corrupts. So the fast-track to becoming corrupt was a good education. He paid for his wisenheimer-y when come to find out, his assigned reading was significantly larger than everyone elses. Kairi often took her reading to her favorite door in the Hall of Gardens. Riku, like he had just done that afternoon, sometimes took a book to the castle of sorcery or just pick something interesting from its library.

"He'll be fine," Sora replied. "It's cool that Riku works so hard so he can see his girlfriend everyday."

"Please don't say the 'G' word." Bryan begged. Rachel and Riku had been dating for some time now but hearing her described as a girlfriend still left a weird buzz in his ears.

"Oh yeah?" Lea said, the teasing smile audible in his voice. "What about when she becomes his wife?"

"GAK! Don't say that!"

"On that day your sister will have a husband and you'll have a brother-in-law."

"STOP TALKING!" Bryan pressed his hands over his ears.

"You might as well get used to it." Sora said. He thought the idea of Riku dating was great. However, Riku 'married' took more work to wrap his head around.

"He's right," Lea agreed. "I've only known about them as lovebirds for a short time and I can already tell it would take something totally cataclysmic to break them apart. I mean, c'mon! Have you not paid attention to how they are around each other?"

Bryan still had his hands over his ears. "Not listening."

"Of course, that being said, you gotta wonder what they do together in that castle."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. "They visit, Rachel practices her magic and Riku helps her out."

"Yeah I know, but what else do you think he 'helps her out' with?"

"That's sick!" Bryan snapped, catching on first. "Don't talk about my sister like that!"

Sora also defended Riku's character once he caught on to what they were talking about.

"Besides, if Riku tried to do so much as touch her wrong, she'd break every bone in his hand." Bryan said. He knew his sister well enough to know how she felt about monkey business before marriage. She had no issue with the execution of violence even to people she liked if the situation called for it either.

Lea dropped the subject but circled back to talking about their relationship in general and where it might be leading, largely because of Bryan's reaction to words like 'girlfriend', 'wife', 'married' or 'making out'. Turns out guys are just prone to gossiping about the love lives of their friends as girls are; they just go about it differently. At this point, all three of them had forgotten they were supposed to be reading, while the subject remained the same, the conversation took many turns, leading up to Lea saying,

"What do you say the three of us have ourselves a little gentleman's wager?"

"About what?" Sora asked.

"Rachel and Riku. We each say what we think is going to happen in their relationship. Whoever is wrong has to do something the winners decide on."

"Like what?" Bryan said.

"Like…when, how, or even if Riku will ever propose. Or when they have their first kid and whether it will be a boy or girl. Things like that."

Bryan did a weird shiver. Even if they were talking about it within the legal boundaries of marriage, Bryan did all he could not to think about anybody making babies with his sister. And even though he still thought it was a little weird, he agreed to take part in the wager.

"So…" Sora said thoughtfully as he looked for some paper to record their bets on. "I say he'll ask her within a year from today. He'll ask her on a romantic date and the wedding will be within a year from that time. And their first kid will be a girl."

"I think it'll take more than a year." Lea said. "It will be in a private setting and-."

"Wait, wait, wait," Bryan stopped him. "You're guessing on several things at once. What if, say, Sora is right on all his guesses except it took longer than a year for Riku to ask? Now both of you got it right and wrong."

"Fair point," Lea agreed.

They solved the problem by making a grid. They put their names on top and a side column of each thing to bet on. Among them were when and where Riku would propose, when and where the wedding would be, what the wedding theme would be if there even was one, when they'd have their first kid, if Rachel would tell Bryan or Kairi before Riku and of course what the baby would be. And that is just keeping the list of examples short.

"I say he's a total basket case the entire nine months." Lea laughed as he scribbled down his wager. "Completely freaking out at every kick, muscle cramp, morning sickness and emotional roller coaster."

"He wouldn't do that!" Sora defended.

"You're probably right but it would be funny."

"True."

"I'm betting he's really over-bearing to the point where Rachel turns him into something that can't talk for a week just to silence the constant 'Are you all right?' and 'How do you feel?'." Bryan said.

"That might be a bit more likely." Sora admitted. "But I'm still saying that it will all go fairly smooth."

"So minimal drama?" Lea confirmed.

"Yeah."

And he wrote down Sora's guess.

"And we can add to this any time, right?" Sora asked when Lea finished writing.

"So long as we make sure to include the rest." Lea answered.

"Now that we've placed our bets, what exactly are the stakes if someone loses?" Bryan asked.

"We don't have to figure that part out just yet, do we?" Sora asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, the first part of the wager is when or if Riku proposes, and we've all got around a year for a guess. We won't need to know the penalties right away if it takes a while before the first betting point actually happens."

"Good point," Lea agreed. "I guess that means we'll just have a longer time to think up great and evil things."


	14. Royally Flushed

"Show us some mercy already! You're supposed to be a pure-hearted princess!"

One evening when all the key bearers were together, the suggestion was made to maybe have something like a game night. Games, drinks, music, a little party if you will. They'd worked hard and felt like they'd earned it. But when they all sat down for a few rounds of poker, things got a bit crazy. Lea suggested they make the game a bit more interesting by making it a game of strip poker. Obviously nobody would be getting completely undressed and once you got to the point where you'd be left in your underwear you'd be out of the game. Thinking it might add an evil challenge to the game and certain they could all be mature about it, the others agreed. Presumably none of them were very skilled at poker but understood the rules well enough. Or so they thought.

And several rounds later Lea realized what a grave mistake he had made with his suggestion.

Maybe it was just a guy thing that made the boys assume that girls wouldn't be good at what are typically considered 'guy things'. Not at all sexist, just some activities that guys usually do and are good at and girls don't. In this case, none of the four boys expected much from Rachel or Kairi as the game began. However, the savagery they were met with was nothing short of shocking.

To everyone's considerable surprise, it was Kairi who was coming ahead victorious almost every hand.

So far all the guys had lost their shirts and were barefoot. Only Bryan still had his socks. Both Bryan and Lea had given up their belts and no one had their carry pouches or any adornments to their usual clothes.

"You're picking favorites! You can't do that!"

Kairi had been merciful to Rachel. So far all Rachel had lost were her shoes, socks, pixie dust pouch, barrettes and her scrunchie.

"Winners privilege." Kairi smirked. "C'mon, cough up. Both of you."

So Sora and Riku had to turn over their belts. Of course that didn't leave them with much else. The round where the pants would've come off meant they 'lost' and could no longer play; _or_ would they have a chance to win their clothes back. Now they were playing more out of desperation to get stuff back than anything else. The game had long-since stopped being fun and more an act of survival. After all, no matter how much you love them, no guy likes to be beaten down flat by a girl.

They never had much of a chance, really. Kairi was raised by the mayor of their Island and his family. Every week the mayor, his brother and a few close friends gathered for a poker game. Sometimes she was allowed to sit in and watch and from that she learned the rules of poker, both gameplay and tricks on calling bluffs and the like. And as she got older she was permitted to play a few hands for the heck of it. Only she had quite the talent for the game and was soon doing just as well as the adults. Kairi never shared this talent with her other friends, largely because her female friends didn't really play cards and she was certain being so much better at something than her male friends would only cause jealous tension. After all, teenage boys don't like being bested at anything, especially by girls. Now they were a bit freaked out by how badly they were losing.

"C'mon, Sora. You're turn to deal."

"I can't believe we're all half-naked because a _Princess_ of Heart is a savage at cards." Bryan growled. The cards he was getting so far were rubbish.

"She's _your_ girlfriend." Riku said to Sora in an accusatory tone like this was somehow his fault. After all, all logic and reason go out the window when you're losing that badly.

Kairi laughed but it only got her four dirty looks.

"I thought it was funny."

"When you're winning rigor mortis is funny." Bryan muttered rudely.

"You're wearing a necklace." Lea made an observation at Riku.

"Yes I am." Riku said, completely disinterested. As soon as his shirt came off, he fwipped the necklace Rachel had given him for Christmas around in an attempt to keep anyone from looking at it. The charm and its message was still a closely-guarded secret.

"So what is it?" Lea tried leaning over to get a look at what was on the chain down Riku's back. But when he tried Riku leaned back in his chair to hide the pendant.

"None of your business."

From then on Lea started doing what Sora had at Christmas to try and see what the charm was.

"Ok, _princess_ , your luck can't hold out forever." Bryan looked at the new cards he had just drawn. "And apparently mine is still taking a nap. I fold."

When the time came to call, only Sora was brave enough to stay in.

"I got it good now." Sora laid down his cards. "Full house!"

"Sorry, Sora." Kairi laid down her hand "Four of a kind."

Sora made an exasperated noise and dropped his head hard on the table. Everyone felt his pain. "Ok, um," Sora looked over himself to see what else he had to give up. " _Here_!" He pulled off the silver chain with the crown charm and tossed it too her.

"Well everybody," Kairi stretched in her chair. "I think I'm going to call it a night. Thanks for the fun."

"NO!"

"You can't do that!"

" _Come on_! Just a few more rounds."

"You have to give us a chance to win our stuff back!"

The rules of poker _did_ dictate that the winnings, regardless of what they happened to be, were the rightful property of the winner.

"You'll let me have my stuff back, won't you?" Rachel asked politely.

"Of course." Kairi said brightly. "On the condition you take me to Radiant Garden tomorrow and let me steer King. Oh, and make me a nice perfume in your potion room."

"Absolutely." Rachel saluted and Kairi handed back her things.

"What about us!" Bryan demanded.

"What _about_ you?"

"How can we get our stuff back?" Lea also said a little rudely.

Kairi leaned over, elbows on the table and resting her chin on her interlocked fingers. Her thoughtful expression made the boys nervous. It was the look when you knew the ball was in your court and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"Tomorrow, I want each of you to bring me my meals, by tray, no matter where I am in the Tower. And let's not forget dessert before bed."

"You want us to play butler." Sora confirmed.

"Yes." Kairi said sweetly. "You four can decide who gets me what meal. But it _has_ to be on time!"

"We don't have to dress up for the part do we?" Lea asked, looking like he were about to recoil from an expected slap.

"Shut up!" Riku hissed at him. No sense giving her ideas.

Thankfully Kairi was merciful and didn't require them to be dressed in butler-like tuxedoes with napkins over their arms or anything.

"Lea," Riku said as the four of them put their clothes back on.

"Yeah?"

" _Stop suggesting things_!"


	15. Fun MagicFor Some

"Kairi! Kairi! Looklooklook!"

Rachel came down the hallway excitedly, holding a very round fishbowl.

"What is it?" Kairi turned to see what Rachel wanted to show her.

The Master held up the fishbowl in a Ta-Da! sort of way. Kairi looked inside. The bowl contained a very tiny creature just a bit bigger than an acorn. It was a baby cuttlefish. Strange how babies of even kinda weird looking adult creatures can look adorable. And baby cephalopods were arguably the cutest little freaks in the universe. It was mostly transparent but kept shifting between pinks and light reds and jerked all over in the bowl.

"Awww!" Kairi cooed as she took the fishbowl. "It's so cute! Look at those bitty beady eyes! What is it? A baby squid?"

"It's _Lea_!" Rachel excitedly squeaked.

Kairi looked at her, not fully processing what she said. She looked at the bowl in her hands and the wee cuttlefish inside. The little animal's jerky movements made sense now. It wasn't moving around uncoordinated like an infant, it was angry.

"That's…Lea? What'd he do this time to deserve this?"

"Oh nothing. I just learned a new spell and I needed to test it on someone."

"Turning people into cuttlefish?"

"Oh no. Normally when somebody turns into an animal, their animal self appears as an age equivalent. Like a seventeen-year-old becoming a seventeen-year-old dog. It doesn't work like that. As a seventeen-year-old dog is just about dead. You become an age equivalent. But the trick is to turn somebody into something younger."

Kairi looked at the bowl again. "You completely sprung this on him, didn't you?"

"Didn't even know what hit him."

"You just blitzed him with a fishbowl."

"Yep!"

"You do realize you'll have to run for your life when you change him back."

"I don't doubt it. Oh! Sora! Look at this! Look what I can do!"

And the conversation was repeated when Sora entered the room; as was Sora's opinion of her needing to split quickly when she changed him back.

"Do I have to change him back? This is the cutest I've ever seen him."

"The longer you have him this way the angrier he's going to get." Kairi pointed out.

"She's right." Sora agreed. "You'll need to change him back." But this was more for her sake, not because he didn't think the whole thing was amusing.

"We'll help give you a head start." Kairi offered.

"Ok, ok. Fine. I'll change him back. Fun suckers." Rachel muttered. She took the fishbowl back. "I'm going to throw out the water and reverse the spell at the same time. He'll probably stumble a bit when he changes back. I'll use that to my advantage and split." She took a few steps back and turned away from the others. "Ready?"

"Ok." Kairi said.

Rachel adjusted the bowl in her hands and changed her stance so to be better ready to toss the water like emptying a bucket then make a break for. She swung once, then twice, preparing for better momentum. Readying for the final, big swing. One! Two! Th-!

" _ **UNLEASH THE KRACKEN**_!"

Sora roared, interrupting her swing.

Rachel stumbled and stopped mid-swing. The water sloshed in the bowl and some splashed over the side but Lea was still a mini squid. She was trying so hard not to laugh and was nearly paralyzed from the effort. Neither Sora or Kairi could say much, they were laughing too.

" _Why'd you have to do that_!?" Rachel snapped as soon as she could breathe.

"Just seemed like the right thing to say."

Eventually Lea did resume his normal form. Rachel took off like a scared rabbit the second the counter spell was cast. Even Lea's emerald eyes seemed to flicker red with unspeakable rage. Sora and Kairi were fully intent on holding true to their word and helping Rachel get a good head start. That was until they saw Lea's face. As comrades and friends, of course they were willing to put themselves in the path of danger for the sake of those they cared about…however there are some instances where self-preservation wins out.

The two of them saluted the empty doorway where Rachel and Lea had disappeared through, hoping for the best on behalf of their friend.

"Good luck." Kairi said.


	16. Double Dare Prt 1

Training at the Tower continued as one might expect it to. The Keyblade warriors learned new skills and honed old ones. They knew how to hold their own and fight flawlessly as a team. And as one might expect, new challenges were issued all the time. There was no way Xehanort didn't suspect his advisories were getting stronger in order to defeat him when the inevitable battle arrived. They'd need to master as many tricks as they could as to be prepared as they could for whatever Xehanort threw their way.

Such was a time where Master Yen Sid assigned a series of new challenges where they were expected to show mastery over a task or at least significant improvement over a short amount of time. And Master Yen Sid's make-up exercises were often worse than the first run.

"We need to think of a new way to really keep ourselves motivated." Sora said the afternoon before the new regiment was to begin.

"What'd…y'have…in mind?" Bryan asked. He and Riku were side by side doing chin ups on an exercise bar in the training hall, each determined not to be the first to get tired. Lea was leaning against a nearby post, counting.

"I don't know. Maybe make it a contest? Figure out a scoring system for the tasks and whoever has the most at the end of it all wins."

"We could…do that." Riku agreed. They were both starting to sweat and the cords in their arms were beginning to show.

"Just a contest?" Lea asked. "Don't get me wrong…it's a great idea, but just winning isn't always the best motivator."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"I mean we should sweeten the pot somehow. What better way is there to give something your best when you have something to lose? It would certainly keep us from subconsciously thinking about it as just friendly competition."

"I see what you're saying." Sora said thoughtfully. "That would be a good way to push ourselves into doing our best, both to get better and to keep from losing whatever is at stake."

"But…what could…be good…enough?" Bryan panted. Suddenly he got a weird muscle spasm in his arm and nearly cracked his jaw on the bar as he dropped.

The suddenness distracted Riku enough and he lost momentum to give it one more go to break the tie. "I would've had you." He panted. They both laid on their backs on the ground to rest.

"No you wouldn't." Lea said. "I saw the whole thing. You were praising your lucky stars that you didn't have to do another one. You didn't care so much about breaking the tie as you did stopping."

Either Lea was right on the nose or Riku was more concerned with catching his breath to argue. So the silent brain storming began. Eventually Lea broke out with the evilest grin and wide-eyed look of devious revelation.

"Got something?" Sora asked him.

"Not yet he doesn't." Bryan said.

"How do you know?"

"Rachel has a similar 'idea face' before she thinks of something good. But the thought usually hasn't finished forming until she starts talking."

He was right. It wasn't until many long seconds later did Lea share what his thought was. "Ok, this is the best. Terrible, horrible, evil, but the best."

"Well don't leave us in suspense." Bryan said.

"Like Sora said, we figure out a scoring system for tasks ahead. Both for skill of completion or if the challenge has us dueling."

"How are we going to keep the scores honest? We can't fairly judge each other when the goal is to see the others lose." Bryan pointed out.

"We'd probably have to have the girls do it." Riku said. "But we can't tell them what the stakes are. Depending on what's on the line, I'm sure they'd love to see some of us lose." He was largely referring to Rachel and Lea.

"Of course." Lea agreed, possibly thinking the same thing.

"But you haven't said what the stakes even _are_ yet." Sora reminded.

Lea had that I-love-it-when-I'm-nasty grin. "Imagine this," He said dramatically. "There will be two winners, obviously the ones with the highest points. Tie breakers will be taken care of if needed at the time. The gracious losers will then have to, with as straight a face as possible, go to Rachel and ask for a spell or potion or whatever that will turn them into a girl version of themselves. _Then_ they have to go on a double-date with the winners."

There was a still pause following Lea's proposal as the conditions sank in.

"You are out of your mind." Riku was the first to say.

"I think the weight of his hair is causing pressure on his brain."

"That made you think of that?" Sora said in a let's-jump-him-quick-and-have-him-committed-for-these-are-not-the-words-of-a-sane-man voice.

"Although," Bryan said, even though it was clear he too thought this was a new level of weird (and that Lea was completely off his meds). "Something like that on the line would definitely keep us at our best. None of us would be ok with last place because it's just, as he said, 'friendly competition'. Pride is the toughest pill to swallow after all."

Strangely the vote came to a unanimous yes. Mostly because each of them already 'knew' they were going to win. But they also had to agree on a few ground rules.

"I think we should put this in writing." Bryan said.

"Like a contract?" Sora asked.

"Can you honestly not see yourself trying to weasel out of it if you lose?" Bryan replied.

Even ever-honest Sora had to admit he'd try to fake an illness on that day if he were to come in last.

"It just needs to be a contract binding us to hold up the terms of the dare, but also rules too." Riku said.

"Like what?" Bryan asked.

"Like no kissing." Riku answered. "I'm sure for you once was enough." He added.

"What does that mean?" Lea asked, correctly guessing there was something he didn't know about.

" _Nobody is telling him anything_." Bryan warned menacingly. It didn't help that Sora and Riku were laughing (well, Riku laughed, Sora chuckled mildly to hide embarrassment). "I'll never be able to live that down as it is. _Him_ knowing would only make it worse."

Lea of course would return to the topic at a later time.

The conditions of the challenge were agreed to be the following. 1. No kissing or inappropriate touching. The losers would only look like girls but would still be themselves as guys. And nobody likes being in the company of perverts anyway. And the fact that they would be with friends would just make it even more weird. 2. The winners got to pick their 'dates'. 3. Winners also would decide the time and place for the date. 4. The losers would have to be super-girly dressed up for the date. 5. Everyone, especially the losers would have to act like they were truly in love and enjoying themselves. It would all be for show but it would _have_ to be convincing. Nearby girls should long to be in the losers shoes. Every bystanding guy should be inspired to treat their girls the same way as the winners.

Of course the more fun they had laying it on thicker and thicker, they were only digging their own holes all the deeper. Holes the losers would sooner have as their own graves then have to honor. But, of course, when having competitive fun with your bros, things only seem like good ideas at the time. After that, you realize just how screwed you are but have no one to blame but yourself.

* * *

***Just bear with me guys. Weird, yes, I know. I'm still trying to remember what the heck launched this idea missile. But! My human soundboard just about peed herself from laughing when I bounced this idea off her so here's hopin' the same will happen to you when this continues (although it will be a while). Personally I find character torture to be hilarious and therapeutic.


	17. Bless You

Rachel went by the study room with one hand holding a jar of pink powder and the other holding her nose.

"Hi Rachel!" Kairi said. It was great to see her since she started her sorcery training. The only times she had come back were on scheduled breaks and demonstrate to Master Yen Sid when she felt she had created a potion perfectly or make a spell work just right.

" _Etch-ah_! Hi Keh-Kairi."

"Bless you."

"Thanks _keth_!"

"Bless you."

"Not coming down with something, are you?" Sora asked, looking up from a particularly fascinating book.

"Nah-no. I… _eth_ …I juh-I just _echu_! I hah-hah- _hedthchkdth!_ I had a little accident with…ah. Hold on. _Aahtchew_!"

"Bless you."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kairi asked, concerned. That was certainly a lot of sneezing.

"I promise I'm nah-not sick. _Ezzth_! Oh boy are my sinuses clear. _Etchu_!"

Lea was making no effort to hide the fact he found the sneeze-fest amusing. "I never would have thought it possible for one person to be able to sneeze so many different ways at various volumes."

"This is the loudest I've ever heard you sneeze." Riku commented.

"Ah-ah-at least I know…breathe in, breathe out…at least I know ih-ih- _ihtzz_! It works."

"Bless you."

"Will you be alright?" Kairi asked.

Rachel had her head tilted back with her nose held tightly shut. Only then the sneezes came out as more of a harsh cough. "I should be _fa-hyn_ if I can just keep my brain in my head."

"Well considering that you-hey!" Bryan wasn't even able to finish his thought before the nearest propel-able object came flying at his head.

"What did you do?" Riku asked. "You didn't do this on purpose did you?"

"Of _ca-hourse_ not." She held up the jar of powder. "It's su- _pahosed_ to do this but I dist- _herbed_ the jar and made some of the _pa-howeder_ rise. Couldn't hold my breath fast enough."

"That sounds exhausting." Sora said.

"I am feeling a-ah-a bit light…lightheaded. _Echew! Etchu!"_

"They always come in threes."

" _Atchu_!"

"Bless you."

"You know," Lea said with a teasing edge to his voice. "They say that every time you sneeze the pressure causes brain cells to die. That's why people with allergies never win the Pulitzer Prize. How many IQ points do you think you've dropped in the last two minutes?"

" _Etchew_! That's just a myth!"

"Bless you."

"I'll ge _tchew_ for that."

"How? Going to huff and puff and blow me away? HEY!"

Rachel held her breath and tossed a pinch of the powder at him. It made a big pink puff of smoke. The others scattered like roaches to a light and about three times as fast.

"Oh tha! Tha! That's! _Actchu_! That's not fair!"

"How mah-ah-ny _techu_! IQ points do you thi-think that was?"

"Not funny!"

Rachel quickly left before Lea could say or do another thing. And of course that left Lea with uncontrollable sneezes.

"I think she's going to get an A+ on that powder." Riku said. Ignoring the fact Lea now sounded like he had serious hay fever.

"I ah-ah-am so gonna geh-geh- _heyt_! her for this! _Eck-ka_!"

"Bless you."

"You'd think he'd learn by now that teasing her never goes without retaliation." Bryan said.

" _Atch-hek_!"

"Bless you."

"Wait a second," Sora said, looking at Lea oddly.

"What is it?" Kairi asked.

" _Etchcha_!"

"Bless you."

"Right there!" Sora said, pointing at Lea.

Lea froze. Was something on him? "What?" He made a snort noise as he tried to keep a small sneeze in.

"Last time you sneezed I swore I saw something."

"Well ih-if it was my brain flyin' out I wuh-wuh-wou- _dnyntt!_ be a bit surprised."

"Beginning to better appreciate her predicament?" Riku said with a smirk.

"Shut up. _Ezzthu_!"

"There! Right there!" Sora said again.

"What!" Lea held his nose in an attempt to stem the flow of ah-chews. He looked down at his front in case something was collecting from the sneezes. It felt like a dry sneeze but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "Oh if shhh…sh-she did something else to that stuff." Sora had come right in close and was looking him over for whatever it was he saw. "Whaaat are you doing?"

"You need to sneeze again."

"Lih-like I have a ch…like I have a choice."

When another sneeze seemed eminent Sora took a quick step back, realizing being close to a sneezer was a bad idea.

" _Eckthu_!"

"That! That's it!"

"Omigosh!" Kairi exclaimed. "I saw it! I don't know what I saw but I saw it!"

"What'd you see?" Bryan asked. Riku was curious too.

"What!" Lea of course was the most anxious to know what exactly was happening to him that the others found so fascinating. Fascinating to the others was getting kinda freaky for him. " _Ezzchu_!"

"Whoa!" Bryan and Riku saw it too.

"WHAT!"

"That's actually kinda cool." Sora said. "Every time you sneeze you exhale a puff of steam!"

Lea was so frozen with bewilderment even the sneezes stopped for a second. "What are you talking about?"

They waited a second and unable to control himself due to that magic powder Lea sneezed again. That stuff was _way_ more potent than a simple dime store sneezing powder.

"He's right!" Kairi said. "Your breath looks like smoke!" She laughed. "You kinda look like a dragon."

"What the heck are you ta-h _awking!_ about?"

"There it is again!" Bryan said.

"Every time you sneeze there's this small cloud of smoke or steam or something." Sora said. "It only lasts a few seconds and its faint but it's enough to see."

It was known by now that Lea's special talent for Fire left his blood literally running hotter than average. The air around him rippled when he got agitated. Water skizzled on him if it was more than five degrees cooler than his body temperature. Apparently his breath was the same way. Normal breathing happened slow enough so the temperature difference equalized quickly. But a violent sneeze forced the air out so rapidly the temperature difference created steam. Much like breathing outside on a frosty morning.

But of course, Lea couldn't care less about the science behind it. In his mind he was already planning revenge…but at the same time trying not to think about just how much worse her retaliation would be if he went through with it.


	18. The Price of Being Helpful

"Hey guys! Gather! I need your help with something."

Rachel came up to her friends in the training hall. Bryan followed close behind. She carried a bottle of some purple-gray stuff and four shot glasses.

"Hi!" Kairi waved as Rachel approached. "What do you need help with?"

"I need you guys to test this potion for me."

"No way." Lea was the first to say.

"It's not going to turn you into centipedes or grow weird appendages in odd places, I promise."

"Have you tried it yourself?" Lea challenged.

"Of course I did! I just need to make sure the effect is universal so I need to do a bit more testing."

"You say 'testing' and immediately I get nervous."

"Come on," Sora defended. "If any of us needed anything you know Rachel would jump in to help us. Yes, _we_ will help."

"Many thanks. Sit please." Everyone took a seat and Rachel passed out the potion to everyone. She also had a little notebook with pen at the ready.

"Wait a second, why isn't he doing this too?" Riku said, indicating Bryan.

"He's got his own part to play in this test. Okay, everybody swig at once."

So they did. The second that happened, Bryan pulled out two stopwatches and got them both going at once. Why did he need those? But in a second it didn't matter. OH! Oh, _blegh_! What the heck was this!? It was _awful_!

Kairi looked on the verge of tears. She had her mouth covered and through tiny whimpers it was clear to see she was doing all she could to keep her mouth shut; afraid of what might happen otherwise. Lea had the face of a man trying very, very hard to be brave. Imagine trying not to cry out after accidentally hitting yourself on the thumb with a hammer. After a few seconds his eyes started watering.

"Oh wow…I-I-I can't see anything out of my left eye."

Sora was faring about the same. His breaths came short and steady and he blinked a lot, trying to keep the involuntary waterworks at bay.

"I think I see dead people." He managed to choke. A gag followed and he didn't dare try to say any more.

"Could be," Lea gagged. "Probably your own ghost leaving your body."

Riku made a face of the purest disgust and did a very violent full-body shiver.

"It tastes like Hate."

All the while Rachel was scribbling down their opinions and reactions to the potion.

"What does this do?" Kairi somehow managed to gasp.

Rachel cast a bit of magic and she was suddenly holding four pillows that she passed out.

Lea gave her a what-the-heck-is-this-supposed-to-be-for look that was interrupted by a powerful shiver of disgust.

"It's a sleeping potion."

"YOU-!" Lea knew he shouldn't have trusted her.

"Why does it taste so-so…?" Kairi was cut off when her eyes lost focus and she swayed on the spot. "Wow…that's…that's…" She couldn't say anything else. Kairi cuddled with the pillow, asleep the second she laid down.

Bryan clicked the first stopwatch. Less than a minute later everyone was in a deep sleep. As soon as Sora's head dropped, Bryan clicked the second stopwatch.

"How long?"

"Fifty six seconds until the first got drowsy, minute-nineteen when the last fell asleep."

Rachel made a note. "Thanks."

"Want to do something while everybody is out?"

"Sure. Thoughts?"

"Extreme snowboarding on the North Mountain?"

"Sweeeet."

"That and you'll need to have a head start on Lea when he wakes up."

"True."


	19. Gone Too Far

Sora, Riku and Kairi had just finished running the magical obstacle course together. Rachel and Bryan always had this boastful air about them whenever they ran it because as a team they could do it so well. The trio was determined to prove they could be just as good or better. Thinking they'd catch a quick nibble before dinner, they were on their way to the kitchen. Only they didn't quite make it that far.

Rachel nearly crashed into Kairi as she rushed around the corner from the hallway. She looked like she'd been running.

"In trouble?" Sora asked, he stepped aside in case she needed to continue the getaway.

"Not me!" She cried. "Oh this is bad! This is so so so so bad! So bad, so bad."

"I think I can see where this is going." Kairi said.

"No you don't! You don't understand at all! This is so terrible, _terrible_ and I need your help! Well, Lea does."

"Of course." Riku said.

"Lea is in trouble! Lea is in so much trouble. Without help very, very bad things will happen. Terrible, horrible, unspeakable things will happen!"

"What did he do to you this time?" Sora asked.

"Not me!"

"Wait, Sora," Kairi said to him. "Why would Rachel look so panicked, frenzied even, if she was planning something _against_ Lea? Especially telling us that _he_ needs help."

"Yes! This is me freaking out because I'm not sure how to save his life. None of you should be looking so calm either!"

"Save his life?"

"Looking calm? Why? What is so bad?"

"You have to help me! _Lea is going to die_!"

"Okay, now I'm lost."

Rachel stood very fidgety, twitching her fingers and bouncing anxiously on her toes.

"Lea crossed the line in a big way this time and I'm not sure how to help him out of it. Or maybe I shouldn't? I hate to see friends in trouble but the crossfire would be messy."

"Do we even want to know what happened?"

"Just spit it out and maybe we can help."

Rachel swallowed hard and tried to get ahold of herself.

"You know that sleeping potion I gave you guys a few days ago?"

" _Of course_." Sora said with a 'duh' air to his voice.

"A piece of my soul died." Riku said.

"I can still taste it." Kairi said.

"Well, Bryan said he needed something like that because he wasn't feeling too great earlier today so I gave him a different kind of potion to help him."

"Sure, she picks favorites when it comes to her brother. Bet his potion didn't taste like…" Kairi said. There was no way to properly describe the potion.

"The soured tears of terrified children?" Riku suggested.

"Exactly!"

"Well…*gulp* hardly anything can wake you up after you drink it until the effects have run their course. Lea must have found Bryan and took advantage of him while he slept an-."

"EEWW!

"He did _what_?!"

"That is _disgusting_!"

" **NO**! No, no, no,no,no,no! It's not like-oh geesh! Oh *gag*! Oh come on! I can't even-that's not what I meant! That's nowhere kinda-sorta close to what I meant! **No, no no**! You guys _are sick_!"

"That is such a relief to hear."

"So…I'm still a little scared to ask what happened."

"Lea…uh," Rachel swallowed and wet her lips. "Lea, he-um-."

"Spit it out!"

"Lea shaved Bryan's mustache while he was sleeping!"

Silence.

"You're right. Lea's dead."

"Yup, a real zombie, dead man walking."

"Should we help or let him receive the proper punishment for his crime?"

Rachel started pacing a little. "This is very bad. Bryan is going to be furious. I mean, livid, murderous. He grew that thing with pride. Bryan loved that lip ferret and now he will outshine Xehanort by way of inflicting pain and suffering upon those around him. This is a dark day, my friends, a terribly dark day."

"But it can't be that bad, can it?" Sora asked. "There's got to be magic that can grow hair back quickly, right? Problem solved."

"There is," Riku told him. "But I think this time it is all about the principal."

"Only," Kairi said worriedly. "He's not going to suspect any of us first, right? We know how much pride he takes in that mustache and he knows that we know."

"He knows I wouldn't touch the caterpillar," Rachel said. "He knows I'm not the suicidal type."

An incoherent sound of rage startled the four of them. It came from several floors away. There was no question what it was about. Everybody froze; a nervous prickle over their skin and they even went a little pale. The beast had awoken and it was angry. They had to find Master Yen Sid. Only with him would they be safe in the event the demon could not be reasoned with. Lea was on his own. And hopefully he had his affairs in order.

* * *

Needless to say, Master Yen Sid had no idea why most of his students were all hiding out in his study. They only said it was just a precaution but didn't say for what. That was until thundering outside the door and a tremendous crash when the door was swung forcefully open. But by then none of them needed to explain.

Never before had the friends given any thought to what the embodiment of Fury might look like until then. But now there could be no question. Bryan came in holding a hand over his face; his eyes blazing. Nobody dared breathe.

"Which one of you did it!" Bryan fumed.

"It wasn't us!" Sora promised.

The four of them shuffled closer together behind Master Yen Sid.

"How bad is it?" Kairi asked carefully.

Bryan's death glare was answer enough. He wasn't about to show them. Then he turned his gaze to his sister; who cringed a bit.

"What do you have to fix this?" His voice shook with rage.

"I'll go get it now." Rachel replied meekly.

"Good answer."

With a little _poof_! Rachel turned into a little bird and zoomed out the door to get what he wanted.

"Where is he." Bryan growled.

The others could only shake their heads.

"Lea's a dead man, isn't he?" Riku said.

"Dead? Oh no. That would be _way_ too easy."

Bryan left and shut the door with a snap.

"That could have been worse." Sora stated after they all felt it was safe to breathe.

Riku looked up and put a hand to his ear. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That sound."

"What sound?

"Jumbled cries of agony?"

"No. I think I just heard the sound of Bryan and Lea's friendship ending."

"This isn't good for any of us." Kairi said.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked her.

"It means that none of us are safe! Before the prank war was just between Rachel and Lea, but if Lea got Bryan-."

"That means he's expanding and could strike indiscriminately at any time based on opportunity." Riku finished for her.

"Exactly."

"Oh boy," Sora said. "Our world just got a whole lot more dangerous."


	20. Misc

Some evenings the whole group gathered in a cozy living room in the Tower. Rachel had come back so the team was complete. Well, partly. After the mustache incident, Bryan wasn't on very good speaking terms with Lea for a while. It was an easy fix but he still was very upset. As one might imagine, Lea learned his lesson. He was certainly going to be more careful about who he pranked and how. Bryan was always such an even-tempered person but had unleashed a level of crazy Lea wasn't prepared for.

But that night was held in relative peace. Seger curled up asleep by the fireplace. Kairi sat curled up in a plushy armchair with Tatania. Sora and Riku were playing chess. Lea laid on his back on the floor. Rachel and Bryan were up against a wall. They were both upside down, feet high above them with their heads on little pillows. Occasionally they'd stretch or cross their legs. And they did it almost in unison even though they had their eyes closed.

"Does it bother anybody that none of us knows how to drive?" Lea asked out of nowhere to break the silence.

Sora, Riku and Kairi looked thoughtful. The Destiny Islands weren't exactly known for their abundance of vehicles but all three of them were at the age where they _could_ learn how. Rachel and Bryan turned their heads toward Lea in unison and said together,

"We can _fly_."

" _And_ we co-captain a flying pirate ship." Rachel said.

"Knowing how to drive a car would kinda be a step-down, wouldn't you say?" Bryan added.

"I guess I wasn't really addressing the wonder twins then."

"Wonder?"

For some reason Sora and Riku looked at each other with extremely confused glances. Did he mean them? Yeah, they were practically joined at the hip for most of their lives and considered themselves to have a brother-like relationship but they'd never been called twins before. And it wasn't like there was any visual basis for a statement like that to be based upon. Rachel and Bryan must have had the same brain glitch and thought Lea was somehow talking about Sora and Riku too. They had no idea why he would say that or how it fit into what had just been said.

"What do you mean, 'wonder twins'?" Sora asked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean? I- not you two! _Them_!" Lea jabbed his thumb in the direction of Rachel and Bryan.

"Us?"

"Why us?"

"We're not twins."

"Quit jerking my chain. Have you not seen yourselves side by side in a mirror?"

Rachel and Bryan looked at each other.

"I don't see it."

"Really, we're not twins." Rachel insisted.

"Then how do you do everything in such perfect unison at times?"

"Because we're brother and sister. That doesn't mean we're twins."

"She's almost three years older than me."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow, my mistake then."

And the conversation ended. A few minutes of silence later-

"Lea," Sora said as out-of-the-blue as Lea had several minutes ago. "Can I ask you a question about when you were in the Organization?"

"You can ask, doesn't mean I'll answer."

"Oh no, it's not personal or anything. I was just wondering…those black cloaks."

"Yeah?"

"How did you get all of your hair under that hood?"

Whatever Lea might've been expecting that certainly wasn't it. For a second he said nothing. Sora never got his answer. Largely because Lea started laughing.

* * *

"I really need to get better at the obstacle course," Kairi said to Riku one morning. "Could you run it with me?"

"Sure, when?"'

"If you're not busy, now would be-."

"Rachel," Riku interrupted Kairi as he saw his girlfriend pass by in the hallway. His voice was lined with nervous concern. "What do you plan to do with that two-by-four?"

Rachel stopped walking. She didn't turn but looked at him only with her eyes. Her expression was one of someone who didn't want to be disturbed.

"Trust me, sugar snap, the less you know, the better."

And she kept walking.

Neither Riku or Kairi moved. After a second they looked at each other.

"What do you think Lea did this time?" Kairi asked him.

Riku shrugged. "No idea. And I'm not sure if I should be curious or nervous about what she plans on doing with that piece of wood."

* * *

One morning only Rachel, Bryan and Sora were together for breakfast. After a while, Lea came in. He didn't even acknowledge Bryan or Sora. He went straight to standing behind Rachel's chair. Lea gripped the back of the chair tightly.

"You better let go of Master Yen Sid's chair before you burn it." Rachel said casually.

He growled something in her ear but neither Sora or Bryan could make out what he said. Probably a warning or promise of revenge. Lea snatched a donut on his way out right after. Not long after, Rachel left too.

"I always get a bad feeling in my stomach when that happens." Sora said once they were gone.

" _Although_ …" Bryan said thoughtfully.

"I think the rest of us haven't been taking advantage of this whole situation the way we should."

"What?"

"Think about it, when those two pull something on each other, do they talk about it to each other? I don't think they do. So, what would happen if one of them got pranked?"

"Ah, they'd think it was the other."

It was true. Whenever Lea or Rachel pulled something on each other, they didn't talk about it, they just planned their next move. They didn't say anything like 'I suppose you think it was funny to put Tabasco in my mouthwash' or 'I'll get you for nailing my shoe to the floor'. There was no open declaration of retaliation when someone had shaving cream put in their toothpaste or had their personal shampoo or soap bottles glued to the bath counters. Lea tried one on Rachel by loosening the cap on the salt shaker. Only she didn't put salt on a lot of things so Kairi ended up getting it instead. He apologized for the honest mistake. But Rachel was still there, so, knowing it was meant for her, she replaced his soda one night with a drink that originated from another world called Tab. He nearly got sick on it. They assumed the prank war was just between the two of them. They didn't bring anybody else in on it and thought that was reason enough not to even think about anybody else pulling something either.

Sora fully understood what Bryan was saying. Any one of them could throw in a stunt of their own and there would be no suspicion at all so long as they were careful.

"Any ideas?" He asked Bryan.

"First? Tell Riku and Kairi. I'm sure they'd be interested in hearing this too."

Only that didn't go so well either. Not a bad idea, too bad it didn't work. A few days later Bryan found Rachel and Lea going down a hallway together with obvious mischief on their minds.

"What are you two doing?" Bryan asked slowly and cautiously, getting nervous by their looks.

"Exacting revenge." Rachel said.

"With the other one present?"

"Not against each other." Lea corrected. "Somebody thought we could be fooled."

"What?" Bryan asked. It didn't show in his voice but nervousness hooked around his stomach and gave a sharp tug.

Rachel and Lea regaled him with a story which starred Lea enjoying a hot shower that morning only to have a huge bucket of ice water poured over him from over the shower wall. Ice cubes and all! The sharp _hissssskkkk_! of hot-meets-cold was deafening. He heard a stifled snicker and very fast footsteps leaving in a panicked hurry. Lea didn't pursue, thinking it was Rachel, not wearing your best fatigues at the time didn't seem the wisest choice. Only when Lea confronted her about it, she had no idea what he was talking about. Of course he didn't think anything of it at first. Denial was the first reaction and it didn't surprise him. But she insisted she hadn't done anything lately so she didn't know why he was getting so upset. She even had to use a Truth Stone before he'd believe her.

"A Truth Stone?"

Rachel pulled a shiny, opaque white stone from her pocket. It was about the size of bar of soap.

"And what do you do with it?"

"Like this, my name is Keyblade Master Rachel and I am a sorceress in training." She turned the stone around in her hand. Nothing happened. "Okay, I am hopelessly, desperately, romantically in love with Lea." She flipped the stone again. The side that had been touching her skin had turned inky black. "That's what happens when you lie."

"Speaking of which," Lea said. He took the stone from Rachel's hand. "Maybe you'd like to prove it wasn't you who dumped the water on me this morning."

Bryan sighed and took the stone. "I did not pour ice water on you in the shower."

Lea snatched the stone and examined it carefully. Both sides were white. He looked between it and Bryan suspiciously like he had somehow bamboozled it.

"That helps confirm our suspicions." Rachel said.

"Of what?" Bryan asked.

"We're sure Sora is the one who did it."

"Sora?"

"Yeah, we were thinking if it were you or Rachel, you would've flown instead of run. And I distinctly heard footsteps. I was in the shower so I doubt Kairi would have tried it. Besides, she's way too short. You didn't do it, she didn't do it and Riku was doing some assignment from the old guy at the time."

"So that leaves Sora." Rachel concluded. "Had no idea that spiky headed bozo could be so devious. Totally punked Lea and pinned it on me."

"Hey, I wouldn't say 'totally'!"

"So," Rachel continued to her brother. "Please excuse us. We need to go figure out how to retaliate."

They left before Bryan could say anything. But he had to find Sora first. This whole thing was his idea. Sora probably never would have done anything like that if Bryan hadn't suggested it as a good idea. Fantastic. So this was his fault. He had to find the others and warn them to play it safe. Now Lea and Rachel were going to be suspicious that pranks pulled might not just be committed by either of them. He shuddered to think what Rachel and Lea could do when they put their heads together toward a common goal.

* * *

A few more little pranks circled around the group. The prank war didn't explode out of proportion; which was a blessing. If it had, somebody was liable to get hurt. Although what happened one afternoon came pretty close to ending in disaster. The team had broken off after a competitive run through a magic-oriented mini quest. Shortly after they gathered in a study room with a long table down the middle.

Suddenly the door to the study burst open with an explosive snap. Lea was standing in the doorway. He looked positively furious. His breathing came hard and controlled as he tried to keep himself from going postal. His emerald eyes flickered dangerously. The air around him rippled with angry heat.

Everyone held their breath. There were two major questions on everybody's mind. What the heck had happened and was Lea taking prisoners? Although curious and worried about their personal safety, no one was very keen on asking him what was the matter. Eventually Lea was able to level his temper enough to speak. He was fuming.

"Which one of you put the dead minnows in my jacket pockets?"

It might've been funny if Lea didn't look like he was about to make the study room resemble the ninth circle of hades.

Strangely Rachel looked at him like had done something to offend _her_. She slammed down her book, pushed back her chair forcefully, stood up and glared at him like he was the fink who clued the guest of honor in on a surprise party. She shouted,

"They were _**alive**_ when I put them there! _You KILLED THEM_!"

It was amazing how fast the human body is capable of moving. Both Lea and Rachel were just blurs of movement and then they were gone, Lea chasing Rachel out of the room.

Silence.

"What do you think he does when he catches her?" Kairi commented after the calm resumed. "Or do they just chase each other until all the running has worn off the fury?" This wasn't the first time one of them had given chase to the other after the successful victimization of a prank. Only no one else knew if the chaser actually had any plans about what they were going to do if they actually caught the chase-e.

"That was a pretty good one though," Bryan said. "These last few ones have been pretty clever."

* * *

A few days later the volcano just about erupted. Rachel came in for breakfast last. Her brisk, today-is-going-to-be-a-good-day walk got her about halfway across the kitchen before she realized she was a snake that just strolled into a den of mongoose. Lea made a b-line toward her like a missile locked on to its target. Rachel tried to scamper off and look innocent but she wasn't fast enough.

"Owowowow!"

Lea grabbed a fistful of material of the neckline of her shirt with an iron grip. "You've sunk to a new level of low this time." He growled dangerously.

"Gosh, Lea. I guess I didn't realize you could even hit those low notes-ow ow!"

He pulled her closer. It was like watching a fox come upon a rabbit with its foot caught in a trap. "Now is not the time for you to try and be cute." Lea was beginning to lose his composure a bit. The air around him started looking like a mirage. "That…had better… _ **not**_ …be _permanent_!"

"It's not! It's not!"

"Good! And _stop_ coming into my room at night to prank me!"

"I wasn't in your room! I spiked your juice last night at dinner! Ow!"

Lea let go of her shirt and thwacked her on the side of the head before sitting back down. The tension was so thick you could have bitten into it.

"This is getting a lot more interesting." Bryan said casually, spreading some peanut butter on his bagel.

"Interesting?" Sora looked at him bewildered. "That was almost as scary as the minnow incident! And that time I was so sure you were about to become an only child!"

"Even though it might be dangerous for me, I have to ask. What exactly did you spike his drink _with_?" Riku asked Rachel.

"Methylene blue."

"And what does that do?"

Lea violently pointed at her warningly to not say a word if she valued living. So she didn't, leaving the others wondering what methylene blue was and what it did.

"A hint, maybe?" Sora asked cautiously.

"You'll have to look it up," Rachel said, picking up her glass of milk. "Lea can't maim me for what you do on your ow-."

Just as she was about to take a drink Rachel shrieked and flailed her glass away from her. Everyone flinched from her scream and pulled away from the table so the spilled milk didn't drip on them. The glass rolled lazily back and forth. Rachel had her mouth covered, a totally grossed out look on her face.

On the table, trying to right itself from being flailed about was a goliath sized water beetle.

Rachel cast Lea an ugly look. "Revenge comes swift, doesn't it?"

"You can't prove _that_ was _me_. There are these four yahoos who aren't exactly innocent either. Besides, I can't stand large bugs."

As one might expect, Rachel still scowled at him like she didn't believe him.


	21. Tomfoolery at the Lecture

This weeks lecture with Merlin included an old projector to illustrate the points of the lesson. This time he was explaining the way to mix certain potions with step-by-step slides of what the condition of the ingredients looked like as they were prepared and how the potions' appearance changed as it was worked on. The room was dark. Which was of course no problem for Archimedes, who of course made sure to fill in points he thought Merlin had missed or was sure the wizard would forget.

Lea sat backwards on a chair. Sora and Riku were on chairs next to him. Bryan and Kairi were laying on their stomachs on pillows on the floor. Rachel was sitting in the back.

"…and this is what the potion looks like when the grounded birch bark is added. Remember, the tree bark is key to the success of the potion. After it dries, you must not touch it with your hands as you break it into pieces more manageable for grounding."

Sora had never given much thought to potion making but it was certainly interesting to learn. At first he thought mixing potions was like cooking, getting the proper ingredients in the right amounts that result in a very specific product. And as a boy when the Destiny Islands lost their heart, he was still thinking cooking was just something mom did until you move out and discover you can't live off frozen dinners. Merlin's lecture of how to create all-purpose antidotes was particularly fascinating. Hopefully he'd never have to put it to practical use though.

Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed Riku acting strangely. Sora glanced over to see what the deal was without making it obvious he wasn't focused on the lecture. Riku sat with his arms crossed tight and his entire torso was tense. Was he trying not to laugh? His jaw was set firmly so that had to be it. The lecture wasn't exactly funny. Sora waved his hand just high enough and aggressively enough to get Riku's attention but not so much not to alert the teachers. Riku was in fact trying to suppress a smile while trying not to disturb the class. How exactly did he manage to hold that in without hurting himself?

Sora gave him a 'what the heck is so funny?' look and shrug. Riku turned his head just far enough for Sora to see him pointing deliberately to his left several times with his eyes. A look Sora returned with a 'what are you talking about' shrug. Riku looked quickly at where Merlin and Archimedes were looking before bending over to *ahem* scratch an imaginary itch on his ankle. At first Sora had a complete brain glitch and looked down at Riku's foot in case that's where the funny thing was located, then quickly realized the funny thing was beyond him. Specifically Lea. However, Lea wasn't doing anything. The only thing that was funny about Lea during a lecture was that his bored-to-death face was about the same as his this-is-pretty-interesting face. Then he saw what Riku had. Only when he did, Sora was so surprised and amused by it he couldn't hold in his snort/choke of laughter and that quickly changed into something that sounded like a dolphin on a helium high with the hiccups.

"Real smooth, Sora!" Riku growled low. But he looked like he was about to break his teeth from keeping his jaw clenched shut to keep the desperate snickers in check.

"SHHHH!" Archimedes scolded.

"Sorry!" Sora squeaked.

The others had only turned around for a brief second to see why Sora had chortled but in the dark saw nothing so they didn't linger on the subject and went back to focusing on the lecture. However, Sora and Riku were having a hard time paying attention to the lesson anymore. Riku would periodically lean forward or backward pretending to stretch or tie his shoe so Sora could get a good look at the funny thing. Just because he was supposed be quiet didn't mean he wasn't going to enjoy himself. Sora couldn't salute Riku thanks without risking being seen by the teachers. So they settled for a fist bump. After all, friends for life, brothers in arms could always be counted on to share a laugh.

Rachel had been sitting at the back of the class. Well, not sitting. Why sit on a hard chair and get your butt sore when you could float? And while she was floating, she made no sound. And in the dark with everyone focused on the slides she could get away with a lot so long as she was careful and quiet.

So she took advantage of the situation to mess with Lea without him even knowing it. Sometimes that was the best kind of prank when the schmo in question remained completely clueless. She had handful of jumbo neon smoothie straws. And she was putting them on the spikes of Lea's hair.


	22. Cold Quest

One of the ways Master Yen Sid kept the Mini Quests challenging was to give only few or vague clues regarding what to expect. This time, the only thing he said was to pack for the cold. And oh boy, did he mean it. Beyond the starting door was a great expanse of ice and snow, flat plains and mountain ranges. The rules and objectives were simple. No flying. No excessive use of magic to keep warm. No direction spells. All they had to do was get to a certain point somewhere beyond the mountain that would be marked with a flag. Of course the idea was simple. Getting there was not.

"We should go that way."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"See all that snow above the canyon? That's got all the makings of an avalanche."

"I think that ways looks good."

"Why? It's so rocky."

"Exactly. Maybe it's like that to deter us from going down that way even though it's the safest path."

"Does it really matter? For all we know they converge after a few hundred yards."

"Certainly sounds like something Master would do."

They weren't trekking for an hour before coming to the foot of the mountain. Once there, five canyon paths opened up, all heading in different directions. Only there was quite a bit of disagreement as to which way they should go. Kairi and Rachel were in agreement to the path farthest to the left. The boys were still discussing/arguing about the best choice.

"I've got an idea." Kairi said.

"What?" Sora asked.

"What if we make this a little more interesting?"

"How?" Lea asked.

"What if we make this a boys versus the girls? Rachel and I know which way we want to go. Why don't we split up and see who can get to the end first?"

"Can we do that?"

"No rule saying we _couldn't_."

"So you want to make this a battle of the sexes?" Lea confirmed.

"Why not?"

"Maybe not," Rachel said. "I'd hate to see a grown man cry."

"Hmmm, I guess you're right. Not that it wouldn't be fun making them eat our snow."

"Oh, hoho, now you've done it. _You're on_!"

So they split. Rachel and Kairi went their way and the boys managed to agree on the direction they were going to go. Not that the going through a frozen wilderness was any more fun. Even in winter gear, the only one who was comfortable in the artic was Lea. Sora and Riku were the first to crack.

"How can any place be this cold!" Sora exclaimed after they'd trudged a distance through knee-deep snow. Christmas Town was obviously snowy but something about the joyous cheer of the place masked the cold. The mountains of the Land of Dragons were chilly too but constant fighting keeps your blood hot.

"Oh quit your complaining." Lea said.

"Easy for you to say," Riku said darkly. "We were born and raised in a tropical climate. Our blood's not prepared for this."

"I know it sucks," Bryan said. "Just keep your eyes open for that flag and we can leave."

"Yeah," Lea said. "Don't forget, we're doing this to beat the girls too."

"But we need to get the flag together, even if we find it first, we'd have to wait for the girls to catch up before we can get out of this icebox." Riku reminded. He wasn't at all thrilled with the thought of being in this cold longer than he had to."

And search they did. And they hated it. All sorts of unpleasant winter wonders were waiting patiently for them. Temperatures dropped. That got rough. There was a fair amount of complaining.

"This is awful!" Sora exclaimed.

"I thought I could handle the cold fine but this is just…I can't believe how bitter this is." Bryan said.

"Will you two quit whining?" Lea said. "This is no picnic but it's not that bad."

"How can you say that!" Riku looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm getting an ice cream headache just by breathing!"

Big flakes came down in droves. It was pretty for a while then it started getting windy and they could barely see. Then the snow quit completely but the wind got stronger. One stretch of snow had that crusty top that could support your weight if you were careful but your foot can plunge right down without warning. They had to spread out and tread lightly. Nothing bad happened if they went through but it did slow them down.

Crossing a frozen lake was a huge waste of time. From the shore they could see a tiny island in the center. Seemed like a good place to put a flag so they checked it out. But for all the work they put in to cross the slick ice was for nothing. The flag wasn't there. They thought the ice was thick enough to walk on without a problem, but they were still super careful for weak spots. While on the little island it started snowing hard again. It was getting dark and none of them wanted to be trying to test for weak points in the ice in the dark so they set up camp on the island.

Using their Keyblades like axes, Lea and Riku took down several big pine trees and laid them in a V, the point facing the water to break against the wind. Behind them Sora and Bryan cleared the snow so they could set up a tent behind the tree blockade. Bryan set the tent up with magic. Master Yen Sid only specified the use of magic to _keep warm_ be kept to a minimum so he didn't feel like he'd violated any rules.

The four of them fit cozily inside the tent. Sleeping bags were already lined up and waiting. Getting comfortable was a little tricky. It's hard to be cozy when your nose is so cold it hurts. Then the blizzard started.

"This is insane!" Bryan shouted. He was bundled in his sleeping bag as far as he could go. They'd been lying there trying to get to sleep for about twenty minutes but nobody was really comfortable.

"I don't know, this isn't so bad." Lea said casually. " _Dang_! Listen to that wind!"

"I'm trying not to." Riku grumbled. This was the third time Lea dismissed the weather conditions. "And you don't need to rub it in!"

" _The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing but I can wea-ther the storm!"_

"Oh shut up!" Bryan snapped.

"I can't take this anymore!" Sora cried. "Lea! Make room!"

"Me? What? Hey!"

All the friends were on the same page about the temperature. It was just too cold. They were miserable, uncomfortable and couldn't sleep because of it. All except Lea. It was common knowledge at this point that Lea's body temperature was much higher than the average person because of his power over Fire. Take his temperature and you'd probably think he'd be a dead man walking when the number was somewhere around 105. It didn't bother him. He didn't even seem to notice. On hot days, he was the one everyone avoided standing next to. On cold days (like now) he was the one everyone wanted to stick close to.

Sora couldn't take it any longer. Neither could Riku. Even Bryan who had a pretty good tolerance for the cold couldn't stand being bundled up in winter gear, blankets and puffy sleeping bags and still chilly. It was like a pack of Tasmanian devils executing a military attack formation on a carcass. As a perfect unit all three of them pounced.

"All of you! OFF!"

"We're freezing here!"

"Do I look like an electric blanket?! _Everybody off!_ "

"Just shut up and take it!"

"I am not a warmer! Get off of-HEY!"

Sora took advantage of the confusion of the struggle and slipped into the sleeping bag with Lea.

" _ **OUT!**_ _!_ And you two! Stop _snuggling_! That's just wrong!"

"Conservation of body heat is not at all gay so shut up and take one for the team!"

In the end (after a few choice unkind words, threats of unspeakable violence and a multitude of harsh protests that fell on deaf ears) the tent was quiet again. Sora wiggled down the sleeping bag until he was up to his nose and laid comfortably on his back. Riku slid his sleeping bag as close to Lea as he could but hadn't gotten out of it. Bryan was the only one who couldn't get close. So, now close to the heat source and during the struggle of Lea trying to make his alleged 'friends' (as he was having serious reconsiderations at that point) leave him alone, Riku tossed Bryan his extra blanket so he too could be more comfortable. Bryan had already wrapped up in Sora's extra blanket and threw Sora's sleeping bag over his own.

Lea of course was the only one was taking no pleasure or comfort in the arrangement. But his irritation only made things more comfortable for the others. As was per the norm for those possessing Elemental magic, his powers were often triggered by or tied to emotions, especially annoyance, irritation or anger and made the space around him warmer. All he could do was lie there and glare at the tent ceiling as everyone else drifted off into peaceful sleep. He couldn't even roll over to get more comfortable. And he was a side-sleeper! But turning over one way left him eye to eye and nose to nose with Riku. Rolling the other way practically left him spooning with Sora. Neither option he found particularly appealing. Going to bed annoyed left Lea waking up with a similar attitude the following morning. So nobody else said much to him while he was in a bad mood.

Getting across the lake again was a lot easier after Bryan had a fun idea. He dropped to his knees on the ice, facing the shore. Then he called his Keyblade and pushed himself backwards with Wind. Certainly took a lot less time than the day before.

The hours slipped by the next day. Lea was the most eager of the group not to spend another night on this quest. He'd char-broil the first person who tried to cling to him like a baby possum before going through another night like that. The winter conditions continuously changed as did the landscapes. It wasn't until they were on a high hillside did they see a dot of something bright yellow and blue in the distance. Down below in the middle of a windy tundra was the flag! Getting down was a trip and once on the open terrain it started snowing. The wind eased up but picked up occasionally. When it did, it got really hard to see. They were fully aware when that happened they could walk right by the flag without being able to see it.

Thankfully that wasn't the problem. When the wind stopped and the tundra was clear, save for the big puffs falling, the colorful speck was more easily seen. That was good. It meant they didn't stray. But this almost felt too easy. Yes, trekking through the ice, wind and snow was no picnic but just picking up a flag just felt like there was something missing. That was until they got closer to the flag.

"What is that?" Riku asked, pointing.

They were still quite a distance away but they could see something by the flag. Yup. Couldn't be easy.

Pacing in wide circles around the flag were two massive polar bears.

"Oh great. _Nature_." Lea grunted.

"How do you fight a polar bear?" Sora asked.

"They have good smell and hearing, right?" Riku asked. "They probably already know we're here."

"Maybe two of us could lure them away while the others grab the flag."

"And _who_ do you suggest volunteers to be chased by a bear?"

After a quick rock-paper-scissors tournament, Riku was the one to grab the flag while the others got the bears to chase them. Hopefully whatever magic had the bears protective of this spot would call them off once the flag was seized. The plan beyond that point was a little fuzzy. A polar bear could easily outrun a person and they weren't allowed to fly to safety.

Their approach got the bears attention. They stopped pacing and watched them. So the plan was put in motion. Sora, Bryan and Lea went in first, cautiously and keeping their distance, hoping to draw the bears off. But the bears didn't move. Great. Now what? Then, coming up with an idea, Riku used Ice magic to create a wall between the bears and the flag. He went after the flag. The others tried to look interesting for the bears but not so interesting for it to be dangerous. Only there really wasn't any need. The bears shuffled their way but one was watching Riku as he snatched the flag. Odd. Why have guard bears that didn't seem to take their job seriously?

Suddenly a huge gust of wind and snow circled around them like a tornado. A second later it cleared and they were at the bottom of a rocky cliff with a door in front of them. It was over? Just like that? What about the girls? Weren't they supposed to be present for the quest to end? Did Master Yen Sid somehow know about their Boys VS Girls agreement? Did that mean they won? Wait a second! Rachel and Kairi were there too! How did they get there? Boys won so everybody came back?

"Soooo, ladies," Lea said snarkily. "How did you handle the cold?"

"Hopefully better than you did." Bryan said to Lea. His comment earned him a dirty glare.

"If any of you three talk about that _ever_ , the only thing left of you will be a pile of carbon."

"We did really good." Kairi said.

"Uh-huh. And it doesn't sting that you suggested we split up and we won?" Lea continued before the girls could ask what Bryan meant.

"Oh? You guys won?"

"Well, yeah." Sora said. "We got to the flag first."

"Is that so?" Kairi said in obviously false awe.

"Why are you guys talking like that?" Riku asked, getting that feeling when you suspect someone knows more than you do but isn't saying anything.

"Oh, maybe it has something to do with how we got to the flag first." Kairi smiled.

"And were waiting for well _over an hour_ for you fine gentlemen to arrive." Rachel added.

" _Gentlemen_? After keeping a lady waiting that long?"

"Oh yes, of course. I retract my previous statement."

" _C'mon_! Really?" Bryan said, getting exasperated. "Did the magic send you back here until we found the flag?"

"Oh no," Kairi said. "The quest wouldn't have ended until all six of us got to the finish line."

"Riku was the one who grabbed the flag but we _got_ there first."

"How do you know that?" Sora asked. "We didn't see you anywhere so how could you know that Riku was the one who grabbed the flag and why are you laughing?"

Rachel and Kairi exchanged a victorious high-five and a long spout of giggles.

"Guys, _**we**_ _were the polar bears_!"

"What?!"

As was sometimes the case when two girls put their heads together, Rachel and Kairi found themselves working smarter, not harder. When they approached a big slope, they used their own Ice magic to create a sled large enough to fit them both and smoothly got to the bottom. They did the same at a frozen river. The option was to either freeze the ice further so it was thick enough there would be no risk of it breaking, or create an ice mat to sit on and use their hands or Keyblades to push themselves forward. So they went with the more fun option.

The still pine forest was beautiful, like a never-ending landscape of sleeping Christmas trees. But it was also a little creepy. There were few signs of animal life and even fewer sounds. Nothing seemed to be moving. They proceeded with caution. The flag could be behind, or even in any number of trees. However, every time they saw, or thought they saw a shadow flicker out of the corner of their eye, it put them both on high alert. Was it just a trick of the light against all the whiteness or was there in fact something moving silently in the woods? If there was, they didn't meet it and for that they were thankful.

Rachel and Kairi faced the same weather conditions the boys had; dropping temps, blistering winds and white-outs. When dusk approached, the girls chose a spot to the lee of a rocky cliff side. It was there between the rock wall behind them, a large boulder to their left and a huge snowdrift to their right they pitched their tent. After a small but rewarding meal, the girls got out only one sleeping bag, propped the opening a few inches up with one of their backpacks, turned themselves into squirrels and got cozy. Sticking close and wrapped in their own fluffy tails Rachel and Kairi stayed very comfortable; sandwiched between the soft lining of the sleeping bag but with enough air allowed in to breathe without getting stuffy.

The next morning, after they'd packed up, Kairi pointed out last night's squirrel solution should have been the first thing they thought of, at least in the sense of turning themselves into something that's more snow-compatible. It was after that Rachel turned them both into polar bears and they carried out the rest of the mission in relative comfort.

"If you had gotten a little closer, you would have seen one bear had brown eyes and the other had violet."

"I first suggested penguins." Kairi said. "But we wouldn't have made the distance as good."

Lea was rubbing a spot above his eye like he was getting a headache. Perhaps he was silently cursing himself an idiot for not thinking of something like that (but he wouldn't have been the only one). There was also the whole thing that if they _hadn't_ agreed to split up, the girls were still likely to come up with the same idea regardless of company and they all could have made it through the night more comfortably and made better time the following day. You win some, you lose some. And that day, they definitely lost one.


	23. Beach Time

Crystal clear water playfully hugged the shores of the Destiny Islands. The little waves quickly kissed the sand before they were pulled back into the ocean. Among the shoreline figures getting happy kisses from the loving ocean were the toes of a Princess of Heart. Kairi stood barefoot on an empty stretch of beach. In one hand she held her sandals. In the other she held her Keyblade. There was no one around to witness the princess using the magic of her weapon to shape and move the water as the waves bullied each other to be the first to reach the sand.

Kairi was entertaining herself while waiting for her friend, Rachel. The boys had already been on a nearby beach for a while to hang out. There was no reason Kairi should just sit at home while her friends had fun. So she invited Rachel to take a stroll through town so see where she grew up. Later on they might catch up with the boys on the beach. Everyone could have their girl time and guy time.

One of the things Kairi marveled about often since she was accepted as a Keyblade wielder was her Keyblade itself. So far she had two. Technically, she had her first Keyblade before she was officially chosen as a wielder. Master Yen Sid had given them all a blank key chain for their last Christmas as a present to them all. When they spoke their name to it, the key chain transformed uniquely to them. That was the blade she held now: Oncoming Tide.

The key chain had become a long-legged starfish and everything about the blade was ocean-themed. The handle had several different aspects about it. The bottom resembled an old anchor, but where the side points would have come up to points, the handle continued with spirals like the end of a spiral shell. Two small pink starfish were attached on either side of the anchor with a tiny wooden helm in the center. The part she actually held on to looked wooden, like it was taken off of sunken ship. Above the handle was a spiral snail shell. The shaft of the blade actually emerged from the shell. It was shaped like the back arc of a question mark. At first it looked like a hard ridged spiraling horn or shell then smoothed out until it went to the teeth, which were the glowing points of an anglerfish's light. The glowing points weren't even touching the bulb. It also emitted a gentle light at all times. It was a very special Keyblade. It wasn't quite a mid-ranged weapon but was great at long-ranged magic attacks.

While Kairi felt a special connection to Oncoming Tide, her base Keyblade was far more magical in appearance. The key chain was a star with a swishy rainbow tail. The handle was shaped like an upside down teardrop and the edges were thin, feathered wings curved downward. Above that was a heart-shaped mirror. The shaft was a plain pole but was wrapped in a spiraling, semi-transparent blue sparkling light. The teeth were beautiful. It was like a skyline view of a castle with the five towers as the teeth. The entire thing was the most amazing, almost unnatural silver. And the name of the gorgeous Keyblade was If You Can Dream.

* * *

Sora, Riku, Bryan and Lea had hit the beach about an hour before Kairi came by to have some girl time with Rachel. They'd spent a great deal of time enjoying fun beach activities. Tidus and Wakka were on the beach too so they were invited to join. Bryan and Lea were introduced as new friends from the other side of the island. However they had a tricky time participating in some activities like surfing or a short sprint of wind boarding. Islanders were typically very adept at all kinds of ocean-related games and past-times. If Bryan and Lea totally wiped out, it might arouse suspicions as to why a born islander couldn't stand on a board for more than a few seconds. Master Yen Sid had made a special charm for Bryan to wear so he wouldn't transform in the water.

After a while they moved inland and Bryan had the idea to make a big sand mound with holes dug in it to play a game of sand ski-ball followed with an improvised version of the washer game with the targets drawn in the sand and tossing shells and rocks instead of washers. Tidus and Wakka eventually having to head out didn't stop the fun. It would've been cooler to play beach volleyball 3v3 but they had to settle for playing in pairs. But eventually the energy of the day started to wear them down. Riku leaned against one of the volleyball posts. Sora just kind of mulled around. Bryan and Lea were playing keep-away with the volleyball or seeing who could hit it the highest.

After a moment, Sora noticed Riku was acting a little odd. He was turned down the beach, still supporting himself on the volleyball net pole. He had gone very tense for some reason. And it didn't look like he was blinking much either. Sora came up behind Riku, looked curiously at his friend then followed the line of his gaze. When he locked on to what Riku was looking at, and realized what was causing him to act that way, Sora couldn't help but laugh.

Rachel and Kairi were a ways down the beach; in very flattering beachwear. Of course, Sora knew Riku was looking at Rachel. Sora appreciated fully how pretty a nice sundress could make Kairi look, but right now Riku's reaction was what held his attention. He had gone very stiff; gaze unwavering in the slightest. Sora could see Riku was trying to swallow but couldn't.

"Oh, oh-hoho!" Sora realized. He gave his friend a knowing, 'you sly dog' punch in the arm. "You've never seen Rachel showing that much leg before, have you?"

Both Rachel and Kairi were wearing semi-sheer sun dresses over their bathing suits. They had obviously come from town because they were wearing matching, wide-brimmed sun hats. Only the teal cover-dress Rachel wore stopped just above the knee; which left a lot of leg to show. Now, wherever you go, beach communities are fully aware of the variations of human anatomy. From diapers on up, everyone of all body types spends a lot of time in swimsuits. And once a young man reaches a certain age, he begins to appreciate the female form; as well as the fact he pretty much lives on the runway. However, being aware of what nicely shaped legs look like from years of beach-going doesn't do a lot to prepare a guy for seeing his _own_ girl wearing something that flattered her so nicely. Riku was just now discovering this.

Sora hooked his elbow over Riku's shoulder, snickering. Being in love was revealing all sorts of things about Riku Sora had never thought possible. Some of those things were like witnessing a lion adopt a gazelle; you could witness it firsthand but it was just too bizarre and unnatural to accept. Other times, like now, were just amusing.

"You better quit that before they come any closer and Rachel catches you ogling her."

"Sora," Riku choked strangely.

"Hmm?"

"Help."

"What?"

"I can't let go of this pole."

After a second of processing his friends' predicament, Sora could help but start laughing. Riku made a sound that could be classified closest to a strained whimper.

"I'm not kidding! I-I can't move!"

That only made it worse. Sora was laughing hysterically, hanging off Riku's shoulder, kicking sand, pacing in circles or doubling over.

"Well, hahah, maybe-may-maybe, hehe, maybe you should stop staring at her." Sora managed to say. Sora couldn't believe it, his best friend, the most grounded, collected person he knew was positively frozen from getting an eyeful of his girlfriend.

"Sora!"

"I-I'm sorry! Jus-just give me a minute."

"Sora _help me_!"

"I-heh,heh. Don't worry, I gotcha buddy."

Sora took a step back, made a wide revving motion with his arm and slapped Riku as hard across the back as he could manage. The sudden, very sharp sting did the trick. Riku stood up straight with a jolt; the kind of jolt like when someone drops an ice cube down your shirt.

Riku took a long, cleansing breath. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Can you let go of the pole now?"

Riku didn't answer. He put a hand over his stomach like he had been expecting to be sick but relieved it didn't happen. "It was like everything inside had turned to stone. I couldn't move or breathe, it was so…" He didn't finish.

Sora laughed. Oh the things that could happen when you were completely smitten. At least the girls were still a ways away. Rachel probably would have thought the speechless staring was cute or funny and commented on it. That probably would have made Riku feel awkward or embarrassed so it was a good thing things transpired the way they did. And who is going to have any issue with smacking your best friend and having them thank you for it?

"So what's going on here?" Lea came up behind them, draping one arm around Riku's shoulder and the other bent and leaning on Sora's head. He was very nosy. "Oh! I see. Dang, Rachel has really nice legs-OW!"

Riku elbowed him. "When are you going to just knock it off!"

"Riku, you poor, naïve soul. You should know by now that torturing you about your relationship with Rachel is the key point of entertainment for the rest of us."

"You also don't poke a sleeping bear in the face, if you get my meaning."

"Honestly, I'm more afraid of her than I am of you. You get pushed to the limit you can just beat me to a pulp. That I can recover from. If she's had enough I risk getting turned into a frog and donated to a school science lab."

"Don't be giving me any ideas."

"Anyway," Lea went on no as though no one said anything. "Let's just take a moment as guys to appreciate this. Let us together acknowledge the subtle poetry of the female leg. Well designed and strong yet nimble enough for the graceful art of dance and gliding their way into our hearts. And, on days like today when light summer gowns are donned, such visions are enough to make those of us of the less fairer sex get so awed and distracted we walk headlong into flag poles."

"That is the weirdest poetry I've ever heard." Bryan had been standing back, watching, with the volleyball under his arm. "And yet he's not wrong."

It wasn't long after that the girls caught up with them. Rachel and Kairi showed off their new hats to Sora and Riku. Riku tried hard not to have elevator eyes but Rachel looked so pretty.

"Hey, ladies, care to go a round of volleyball with us?" Lea asked, but he said it with a teasing edge while folding his arms over his head and twisting his torso. "You'll be the envy of every girl on this beach, in the company of the devilishly handsome quartet like us."

Rachel and Kairi giggled. Rachel's eyes glided over the shirtless torsos of her friends.

"It's like Chippendales without the bow ties."

That was too much for Kairi. She let out a rather unladylike sputter and started giggling hysterically.

Lea shared a glance with the other guys. "Should we start dancing?"

"NO!" Bryan cried.


	24. Stuff to Think About

All four boys were in the training hall, taking turns sparring in pairs. After a while Bryan and Riku were the only ones left fighting. The two masters were dueling intensely for about seven minutes before calling it quits for a while. They all had done good work that day. Their skills fighting with and against each other were growing all the time. The plan for the rest of the afternoon was to practice fighting three-to-one and see how well that went. Of course that was only going to be put into action after a good rest. So they chilled.

"Hey, Riku," Lea said. "Got a question."

"Yeah?"

"Where are you and Rachel going to get married?"

"Excuse me?"

This had Sora and Bryan's attention. They didn't say anything, only listened and pretended they weren't listening.

"You're from one world, she's from another and there are several other places that are special to both of you. So how will you choose on which one to have the ceremony?"

"Wh-why are you even asking this?"

"Just curious. Your guest list might be a little complicated too. Oh, and I'm putting my name in for best man."

Riku sputtered in disbelief at Lea's presumption. So did Sora and Bryan.

" _Excuse me?_!" Sora exclaimed.

"What makes you think _you'd_ be considered for that job!"

" _I'm_ his best friend!"

" _I'd_ be the brides' brother!" Bryan realized what he just said and stuck out his tongue like he'd just tasted something bitter.

"That's why I'd be a good choice. When you can't choose between two of anything you leave the decision to a neutral or unbiased third party."

"What do you mean ' _unbiased'_?! Just you suggesting yourself is hardly unbiased!" Bryan said.

"There is another point to consider," Lea said as though neither Bryan or Sora had said anything at all.

Riku massaged above his eyes with his fingertips. "I'm afraid to ask what that might be."

"The best man is traditionally the one to plan the bachelor party."

Riku did a jolt-like body shiver. "I was right."

"Well come on, these are things you need to start thinking about if you're taking your relationship with Rachel seriously."

"The only thing I'm having a hard time taking seriously is that you're the one to bring this up."

"Hey, I'm just saying it like it is. If you plan on doing anything fun before you fall from the noble rank of bachelor, I'm your best option."

"Oh, you _think_ so?" Bryan challenged.

"You're too responsible and Sora is…Sora."

"Hey!"

"Truth hurts."

"The best man gives the speech! I've known him the longest!

Riku rolled his eyes. 'Just curious'? Yeah right. You don't think something out that thoroughly just on a random curiosity. He'd obviously given this a great deal of thought. Although his first question did have some viability Riku couldn't deny. Coming from two completely different worlds that meant so much to of them would certainly make for a difficult decision. But Lea wasn't done yet.

"One more thing,"

"Will I be able to stomach it?"

"When you and Rachel have your first kid, I'm godfather, right?"

The spot above his eye Riku had been previously been massaging really was starting to throb. "I don't know if I should be taking you seriously or if this is you just trying to mess with me."

"You're after best man _and_ being godfather too?" Sora said, displeased.

" _Why_ do you think you'd get that honor?" Bryan asked, once again challenging Lea's reasoning. "You're the newest clown in this circus."

"Hey, _you're_ the _only_ uncle the future Riku-Rachel bundle of joy is going to have. That should be enough. And just how good or responsible is Sora with kids?"

"And you think _you'd_ be good with kids?" Sora said a little defensively.

"Oh kids love me."

At that all three of them laughed.

" _You_?"

"I'm not seeing it."

"I kinda am, but the image in my head is too surreal to accept."

"And how do you know kids love you…?"

All three heads snapped in Lea's direction as they all came to the same conclusion at once.

"I do not _have_ a kid!" Lea cried, appalled and feeling a great deal of second-hand embarrassment on behalf of his friends for all of them arriving at that conclusion.

The body language of the others was like watching a balloon deflate with relief.

"Hey, I come from a really big family and only the second oldest in a whole platoon of cousins."

"Oh, well they were family so that doesn't really count." Bryan said.

"Hey!"

Riku did what he could to stay out of the conversation. The topic had been redirected and he was okay with that. Bringing too much attention to himself might make Lea remember what he had been saying.

* * *

"What do you think about having kids one day?"

Not long after his conversation with Riku and the other guys, Lea found Rachel and brought up a similar topic with her. Only he was a lot less blunt about it. He was leaning against the post of her four-poster bed. Rachel was flying around the room organizing things as she listened. Tatania was on the bed, rubbing against his thigh with her head, begging for attention.

"It's in the plan, one day." Rachel answered. She was shuffling things around on a bookshelf. "You?"

"Oh yeah,"

"You good with kids?"

"You have no idea."

"Oh?"

"I had _a lot_ of aunts and uncles. Both of my parents had several brothers and sisters. They all got married and continued the tradition of big families. Except for my parents. They recognized perfection when they saw it and stopped there."

Rachel giggled. "So no siblings but lots of cousins."

"Yep. I know kids inside and out. And let me tell you, as a kid, I drank a lot of imaginary tea and answered a lot of pretend phone calls to keep the littler ones happy."

"That I'd love to see." Rachel floated by her nightstand where a big bowl of three tiny goldfish were kept. "Okay, guys, time to get clean." With a big of magic, the water lifted from the bowl, fish and all. The big water orb hovered in mid-air as Rachel rubbed down the inside with a cloth. She summoned a pitcher of water, poured that into the clean bowl, dropped the fish into their clean house and put the dirty water in the pitcher before making the pitcher vanish.

"Neat trick."

"Thanks. Riku gave me these little guys. Their names are Shimmer, Glimmer and Freddie."

"Reminds me of the names some of the cousins gave their pets."

"Like?"

"Like Sugar the black cat, Spot the solid-colored dog, Baldie the parakeet or Pumpernickle the hamster."

"Pumpernickle?"

"Six year olds like saying funny words. And learning to roll with it is a skill you have to get quickly."

"I'll bet."

"That's why befriending Isa was such a reprieve. I finally had someone my own age to talk to and hang out with. It was great to get away from braiding hair and making blanket forts. Don't get me wrong, I loved those kids to pieces but it did get frustrating sometimes with the age gap between me and the third oldest."

" _You_ braided little girls' hair?"

"Hey, why sound so surprised? I know how to do a lot of things most guys don't. In fact, I could French braid your hair better than you could."

"Oh,oh-ho, that I'd like to see."

 _Seven minutes later._

"Holy crap!"

Lea's feathers got a bit ruffled at her disbelief so he proved it. Starting on the right side of her head and staying behind her bangs, the braid wrapped around to the left side, behind her ear then it all fell long.

"Told you."

"I-I guess I owe you an apology."

"It happens when five-year-old twin girls decide you're their favorite."

" _Aww!"_

Lea wasn't sure if he should try and transition into the conversation he'd started with the guys earlier. He didn't know what Rachel and Riku talked about in regard to how they wanted their relationship to progress, but he couldn't stop himself from being curious. Even more curious to him was the fact he was curious. He might have a few skills when it came to doing, for lack of a better term, 'girl things' but chatting up about relationships like a middle schooler was hardly his style. But he never had a friend like Rachel before either. In fact, up until Rachel and Kairi, he didn't really ever have any close female friends. The dynamic was very different. He decided to leave it be for now. But he would definitely return to the topic later.


	25. Illusion Paint Prt 1

Lea woke up groggy. He didn't want to get up. Today was a good day for sleep. They could have one of those once in a while, right? One of those cozy stay in the PJs all day and keeping the trusted friendship with your pillow strong sort of days. Maybe he could pull off not feeling well to score a few more hours rest. No, that whole can't get sick thing. Rats!

Lea stretched Oh! That felt physically painful when you wanted to stay curled up asleep. With great reluctance he managed to roll on his back and kick off his blanket. Bleh. Stay in bed, stay asleep. Yeah right. No way that was going to happen. No doubt there was going to be several things Master Yen Sid would want done today before there could be any playtime. And going to bed early just wasn't the same as staying in bed. Here's hopin' this _meh_ feeling didn't dictate how the rest of the day would go.

On his back Lea stretched his arms above his head. Maybe getting out all the kinks first might wake him up and feel a bit more human before having to get up and greet the day. Then he saw something. Or he thought he did. He'd have to wait a second to get the layer of fuzz off his eyes before he could be sure. There it was again, but not in the same place. Just a shadow out of the corner of his eye? A speck of dust floating across the pupil? Couldn't be, it kept happening. What was he seeing? It happened again. Lea jolted upright; flailing his arms. Was something on him or on his bed? Yeesh! Hopefully not! Was that a spider? Lea got a bad shiver. That would be disgusting. He didn't mind spiders; from a distance. But he couldn't see anything else. Had he imagined it? No, there it was again. On his arm!

Lea startled again and brushed his arm violently. Gross, gross, gross! But…he didn't feel anything? If it was a spider, even a little one he should have brushed against something, right? Lea looked over his arm in case he missed it. But no spider, no fuzz, no bu-OH GEEZ!

There was a shadow alright, but it wasn't from any spider. Lea completely freaked out when he figured out what was going on. The shadow was on his left arm…and it was moving! It was like there was a beetle crawling just under his skin! It started at about his wrist then went the full length of his arm before disappearing. A few seconds later it would happen again. I'm sure you might imagine what his reaction might've been like. Lea tried everything. He pushed his right hand hard on his left forearm; a desperate attempt to keep the thing from going any further. But that didn't do anything at all! And…wait. Shouldn't he be feeling this? He was seeing it but…not feeling it.

After a few seconds to let the adrenaline wear off, Lea came to a conclusion. The moving thing wasn't really there. You'd feel a bug crawling on you. Of course you'd feel one _under_ your skin. And, after watching it for a second, the 'crawling bug' came and went in a very specific time loop. It took exactly to the count of six one-thousand after it vanished at his shoulder did it appear again at his wrist. It was like some kind of illusion. And he knew exactly who was responsible.

After slipping a shirt on Lea stormed off to the kitchen. Everyone was already there and in the full swing of breakfast. Rachel was kneeling by the edge of the kitchen counter, petting Tatania as the tower cat had her breakfast. When she stood up again, Lea was right behind her.

"You better not be thinking about abusing my girlfriend." Riku warned.

"This will only take a second." Lea said roughly. He turned back to Rachel and pointed violently at his left arm. " _Fix it_!" He ordered.

"I don't know what you're talking abo-eek!"

She tried to walk away but Lea gripped the back of her shirt to keep her from going anywhere.

"How do I get rid of it?" Lea growled in her ear.

"Take a chill pill! It washes off with hot water and a good scrubbing."

"It better!"

Lea quickly took a small plate and took two jelly donuts before leaving in a huff. He typically didn't eat with everybody when he was irritated. Rachel hopped up on the counter where she finished her slice of breakfast pie like nothing had happened.

"What was that about?" Sora asked.

"Did you seriously give him a tattoo?" Bryan said to her.

She only smirked behind her glass of juice but said nothing.

"Come on," Riku said. "You two can't keep putting on displays like that and not tell us what it's about."

"Okay, I'll tell you. I found a fascinating potion called Illusionary Paint. I mixed some up then got the idea to test it on Lea."

"Why is it always him?" Sora asked.

"Some people are just more fun to get."

"Sora," Bryan hissed. "Don't say things like that. It might start giving her ideas about branching out."

"What does Illusionary Paint do?" Kairi asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not much. You can use it on any surface. If you have an image in mind, it will appear on it. And all you have to do is focus on what you want to show up the image can even move."

"Like the walls in the room we stayed in when we were sick?" Kairi asked.

"I never thought about that before but it wouldn't surprise me if you're right."

"What did you do to him?" Bryan said.

"I ran a brush of the stuff along his arm and made it look like he had a bug crawling under his skin."

Kairi shivered. "That's gross."

"Kinda cool though." Bryan said. "Evil but cool."

 _Two Days Later_

"What're you doing, Bryan?"

Just ahead of lunchtime Lea came into the magic kitchen to grab something to drink. He'd just run a timed obstacle course with Riku to see who could get to the end first. When they were finished, he found Bryan was already in the kitchen and working on something.

"Are you cooking?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you stirring a steaming cauldron?"

On the counter was a small silver cauldron. It didn't look like it would even hold three gallons. The top was all frothy. The brew was an attractive amber color and smelled scrumptiously sweet but with a sharp edge of something else.

"What is it?" Lea asked. "And are you willing to share?"

"Hard apple cider and no, this isn't for sharing."

" _Hard_?" Lea questioned. "You do know what that means right?"

"Of course I do."

"Your sister's not even old enough to drink yet so I know you're not."

"Master says it's okay."

" _Excuse me_?"

"Relax, will you? This isn't my first drink. After about a year apprenticing under Master Yen Sid it became an evening tradition talking over a small glass of wine."

"To minors? What's wrong with that old man?"

"In some worlds, kids get their first taste of wine as young as twelve. The alcohol content was never very high and it was only ever the one glass. I'm not much of a wine guy but I do like this." Bryan said, pointing to the steaming cauldron. "Master says I can have it whenever I feel like it so long as the booze content is three percent or less."

"That low? Sounds like it's mostly for taste."

"Well, yeah. You'd have to be a micro-featherweight to get so much as a wave of lightheadedness off of this. A bug would have a hard time getting tipsy from this stuff."

"And what is this for?"

"I'm going to Montressor tomorrow afternoon to visit Jim. Montressor is celebrating their version of Halloween. There's going to be a party at the Benbow Inn. Jim invited me so I thought I'd bring something for the two of us."

"Where's Montressor?"

"Wanna come?"

"To the party?"

"Sure. Jim's already met Sora and the others. And I doubt he'll mind if I bring a plus-one. It just makes the party more fun."

"Sounds great. So will this be a costume party?"

"Oh yeah. Even though most of the people who live in those worlds aren't human they still dress up as monsters and things. Though a lot of the monsters they tell stories about are very different than what we know."

"When did you say this was?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"What are you going as?"

"Don't know. Might just go with what I'm usual in in Halloween Town. What?"

"What?"

"You look like you just got an idea."

"I did. I'll get back to you later."

* * *

"You!"

"G-yaah!"

Lea found Rachel in a meadow in the Hall of Gardens with her unicorn, Fantasia the UniGlow. The unicorn was lying down, half-asleep due to the soothing repetition of Rachel brushing her. Of course that calm didn't last when Lea came up. He wasn't exactly quiet.

"Geesh! If I'm ever going to have a heart attack I don't want it to be with your help!"

"Sorry."

"What do you want?" She said a little snippily. Fantasia wasn't too happy about being startled out of her dozing either.

"I need your help."

Rachel pulled her head back like a bee had suddenly buzzed in her face with surprise. "Help? You need my _help_? Sorry, I can't work miracles with eyebrows…or the lack thereof."

Lea rolled his eyes high and counted to five to keep himself from commenting. "I met up with Bryan earlier and he said he was going to a world where a friend was hosting this Halloween-like party. He said I could go with him if I wanted. I had an idea for how to dress up but I need your help with it."

"Why would you need my help for something like that?"

"You still got that weird paint?"

It was funny to watch her stare at him blankly then see the switch click into place once she processed what he was talking about and what he intended to do with it.


	26. Illusion Paint Prt 2

"Okay, so what're you thinking?"

"I've got this idea of kinda like an undead theme. Think like a zombie king or something."

"Ooh! I like it. And this stuff could really make it look like skin is raw or rotting without that actually happening."

"That'd be awesome. What else can it do?"

"What all do you want?"

"This is going to be great. Where do we start?

"Just how much of you will be showing from beneath the costume. What are you wearing anyway?"

"Haven't decided yet." The room they were in had quite a closet that was always ready with whatever you wanted in it. However, Lea hadn't made up his mind so the closet was very full of many variations of what he'd been thinking about wearing.

"That's no help! How am I supposed to know where to paint?"

"Start here." He sat down and pointed to the side of his face.

"Okay," Rachel had the paint in a mason-like jar and another jar full of different size and shaped brushes. By itself, the paint was the color of turpentine and looked oily. "Shut your eyes, I got an idea."

Lea shut his eyes but almost right away opened the one Rachel wasn't painting around. She used a tiny brush on the outermost corner of his left eye. He tried hard not to twitch at all. Paint bristles could still hurt if stabbed with it.

"Okay! Check that out! OH that is so gross!"

"Where's a mirror! I gotta see this!"

The paint cast the illusion that most of the flesh around the corner of Lea's eye had been long since rotted away. The edge of the orbital socket was visible and the edges of the skin were browning. But that wasn't all, it looked like there was a tiny green worm going back and forth across the opening and nestled beneath the skin. But when Lea touched it, there was absolutely nothing wrong or out of place.

"That is sick! But it's awesome! More! This can only get better."

And it did. By the time Lea's face was done he had a thick vertical scar over his left eye and half of the right side of his face looked like he was auditioning to be the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera.

"This is awesome." Lea stated simply. He kept touching the paint. The 'burned' or 'scarred' skin stretched just as skin was meant to as someone moved but it didn't feel that way.

"This has got to be the greatest Halloween tool to ever exist."

"You bet it is."

"Stop poking at it! It might flake away."

"I can't help it!"

"This party isn't for a few hours yet, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Don't suppose the rest of us could come too?"

"Why not? It's that worlds' version of Halloween, right? Holidays aren't invite-only. And this party's at a public establishment, right? You'll just be the public."

"Fair point. I'm going to tell the others and see if I can't find a costume."

"Wait a minute!"

"Why?"

"You're not done yet!"

"I'm not?"

"Not by a long shot." Lea took his shirt off and pulled over an ottoman the length of a loveseat and sat on it.

"What are you doing?"

"I want that stuff all over." Lea held one hand level with his collarbone and the other at his waist to indicate the range he wanted painted. "C'mon!" He lay back on the ottoman. Rachel shrugged and sat next to him. "Like your canvas?" He teased.

Rachel leaned over him with a small, coy smile. "Lea, have I ever told you that you're smokin' hot with your shirt off?"

"Oh? Why no, I do not believe you have." Lea said, a flattered smooth edge to his voice.

"Well there's a reason for that."

" _Oh ho_!" Lea made a face like he was in physical pain. He'd walked right into that. He should've expected that.

Rachel smirked and picked out a larger brush from the jar. She looked him over, not sure where to start or exactly what to do. Eventually she settled on an idea and started painting.

"Gyah!"

"What!"

"That stuff's cold!"

"Big baby."

The rest of the painting was done in relative silence. The only notable sounds were Lea flinching when the brush got too close to his sides. Bristles tickle… _a lot_! When Rachel was finished she stood up and looked over her work. Her expression was a peculiar mix of revulsion and awe that made Lea very curious.

"Mirror! I gotta see this!"

And see he did. It was so creepy but equally awesome. The paint gave the look that portions of his skin had either been peeled or rotted away, in some places, down to the bone. It was like being a living anatomy project. Maybe this stuff would be most applicable in medical schools? Because this wasn't like wearing a skeleton suit where the fabric bones just lined up with where they were supposed to be on the body. No, the illusioned muscle and bone moved and flexed as he did. Around his sternum the paint showed all the way through to the organ level, showing a corner of his actual beating heart. Over his left ribcage was showing to the bone too, revealing the cartilage between the ribs that allowed the bone to expand when the lungs filled with an inhale. Other spots just showed muscle.

"That is disgusting. I am totally freaked out but that has to be the most awesome thing I've ever seen." Lea said, wierded out yet ecstatic.

Rachel peered close at the 'beating heart', marveling at how realistic it looked. She poked him in the chest just to make sure she couldn't actually touch raw flesh. Of course nothing happened. It was no different than standing in front of a projector while it was running a film…only your body is the screen.

"This is crazy," Rachel said in awe. "Costume!" She cried. "This has gotta look awesome."

Only problem was how many options the closet had provided. Lea was also considering this problem too. After how amazing the paint turned out he couldn't go just as a mundane zombie.

"Oh oh oh! Try this! Sit."

Rachel found an inky black sash and tied it haphazardly around his head. It mussed up his hair a bit looked kinda pirate-ish. Sweet. But she wasn't done yet. After looking through several dresser drawers, she pulled out a handful of clips and charms on beaded strings and clipped them all over the sash. Some were stone skulls, runes, jewels or actual tiny bones.

By the time they were done, it was agreed Lea looked like the high priest of the undead or the grand voodoo king. To amplify this obvious position of power and importance the clothes chosen were of great quality and condition. The boots and jacket were black, polished leather with shiny silver and copper adornments. Both were covered with a tasteful array of charms and amulets. The jacket was left open to show off the paint. They found a clip earring with a huge fang on it. Lea also wore two necklaces. One was woven with some kinds of twine with a cluster of feathers tied together at the bottom. The second was about half the length of the first. The chain was actually the vertebrae of small animals with precious stones beaded between them. They didn't stop to ask if they were actually real.

But as sharp as he looked, Lea and Rachel agreed there was something missing. So Lea took one of the smaller paintbrushes and ran it along his throat. In a few seconds a line appeared that looked like close stitching and the skin around it turned light pink. Rachel also painted a few tattoos on his arms like protection wards or marks of his high positon among necromancers. And to top it off, from mid-forearm on down the skin was a very different tone from the rest of him, giving the appearance he'd lost part of his arm and replaced it with someone else's.

"So? How do I look?"

"Honestly? I'm a little scared."

"You should be."

Lea held out a hand and a fireball blossomed in his palm. After a second the flame shaped itself into a cackling skull. The way the light caught on his pale skin and across that evil smirk illuminated a whole new level of freaky.

"Dude…that is awesome." Rachel scooped up her paint and brushes and made for a hasty exit.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I gotta show this to the others so we'll have time to get ready for the party! In the meantime, you just…go scare people."

* * *

Rachel gathered the rest of her friends and shared her idea about using the illusion paint as part of a costume for the Montressor celebration. After hearing her describe what Lea had done for his costume, Sora had commented how it might be cool to have their entire body covered and see what that looked like. That gave Rachel an idea and the other four followed her into a side room in the Tower. It was very large and very empty. On one side was a large mirror and oddly there was a pole coming out of the floor with a showerhead hanging it over it. Just as odd was the inflatable pool in the center of the room. Odder still was a tall but skinny tent-like structure not far from the shower pole. It looked like an anorexic circus tent.

"What is that for?" Riku asked, looking confused at the pool.

"The Tower magic must know what she's planning." Bryan told him.

Rachel popped inside the empty pool, put the paint jar at the bottom and jumped out again. Everyone looked over the side at the jar I the empty pool. With a few magic mumblings and a wave of her hand, the contents of the jar bubbled and spilled over. And it kept spilling, and spilling and spilling. It was like the top of a fire hydrant had popped off. The oily paint continued to overflow and multiply from its container until the puffed up pool was full of it. In such a large amount it looked kinda gross.

"Do I need to repeat my question?" Riku said. He still didn't get it.

"Sora's idea!" Rachel said, excited. "Like this, change into a swimsuit in the tent, jump into the paint while thinking about what you'd like to be painted as, then rinse off the excess in the shower!"

"It scares me a little how thorough she can be." Sora said quietly to Kairi.

"So, who's first?"

"ME!" Kairi raised her hand so fast she nearly smacked Sora in the face. So she did just as Rachel said. After spending a minute in the tiny tent, she came out again in a simple one-piece swimsuit and climbed the short ladder to the pool. "So how do I make it work?" She asked.

"Just think about something." Rachel told her.

"But I kinda want to be surprised."

"Then don't think about anything." Bryan said.

"Okay," So Kairi held her nose and jumped. She sputtered a bit when she came up again. "Yuck!

"What's wrong?"

"I got some in my mouth! It's bitter. And it feels like I'm covered in baby oil."

But when she rinsed the paint off, everyone was left in awe. Especially Kairi. From head to toe she was covered with shiny amber-gold scales. The shade went well with her off-red hair and violet eyes. Scales were everywhere; on her face, across her back, even on her feet and down her fingers. She looked like some kind of ethereal water nymph. With the right costume, she could be an ocean goddess.

Of course the stupendous success of Kairi's paint job got the three boys pushing around each other to be the one to go next. Sora leapt off the ladder and ceremoniously swan-dived into the paint. The transformation was astounding. Sora was also covered with scales but they were more lizard-like than fishy. The scales were an earthy green. He looked like some kind of dragon hybrid.

"This is awesome!" Sora exclaimed.

"Oh _sure_! _He_ gets the cool one." Bryan said. "Me next!"

Riku made a 'darn it' gesture as Bryan jumped on the ladder then let himself fall in. But after he rinsed off he was greatly disappointed. His skin looked textured but that was about it.

"Oh come on! What the heck is this supposed to be?" Bryan shook his head to get off the excess water then mussed his hair with his fingers. "You know what, I'm going in again. This is-."

A sharp gasp from Kairi cut him off.

"What? What!" He asked, startled.

"Your hands!"

"What abou-ah!" From about mid-palm to fingertips his hands had turned brown. "What just happened! What did I do?"

Upon closer inspection, the brown color was also textured, but differently. It looked like…hair. Like painted hair. After another few seconds it faded back into his normal skin tone.

"That was weird."

"Wait a second!" Kairi said, getting a revelation. "Here!" She took Bryan's wrist and laid his hand flat across the top of her head.

"Whaaaa-t is this supposed t-oh boy!"

It was like a piece of paper towel soaking up juice. His whole hand turned the same off-red as Kairi's hair. But not just the color, his palm even had the 'imprint' of the part in her hair as well as every layered strand. Bryan stepped back and shook his hand like he were trying to shake off a spider. Yeah, like that was going to do anything. But after a little time had passed, the color faded and went back to normal.

"He's a chameleon!" Kairi cried.

"That is so cool!"

So of course they had to play with it a little.

"C'mon! Let's hug it out, bro style!" Sora said.

"No."

Too late. By the time Sora pulled away, Bryan had green scales on his chest and arms where Sora had touched him. Kairi leaned in against his arm so he picked up the golden scales that were on her.

"Shut up!" Bryan had to snap at his sister for giggling.

"I'm not making fun!" She insisted.

"My turn," Riku said once the amazement of Bryan's paint job had ebbed some.

For the fourth time, the paint did not disappoint. Riku received a series of oooh's once he rinsed off the excess paint. Riku looked himself over Yup, this was pretty cool. The paint gave him the appearance being covered with fine fur, patterned like a snow leopard. When looking straight down at any part of him, the paint cast the perfect illusion of thick, textured fur. It was incredible once you readjusted your angle you could see the skin was smooth. Riku looked to Rachel when he heard her make a purring noise with her tongue.

"Now you just need to paint your nose black." Sora commented.

"No."

"Oh, oh!" Rachel raised her hand eagerly. "I know a spell that could actually-."

"No!" Riku instinctively held his hand protectively over his nose. "You just take your turn."

So Rachel did. Once more the paint amazed. Just about every element had been covered now; scales, fur, and now feathers. With the exception of most of her face, throat, collarbone and palms Rachel now looked like she were covered with fine, shimmery feathers. The colors were in the jewel family; royal purple, deep sapphire blue and a bit of emerald green.

The girls hogged the mirror, admiring their shimmery scales and feathers. That was until Bryan reminded them the party was in just a few short hours. So the best time to admire yourself would be after they got in costume.

* * *

I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT! I finally did it! It took me forever but I finally did it! After two years of planning and re-design since I started writing Bound By Light, I have at long last finalized the design for Rachel and Bryan's shared Keyblade, No Shortcuts! It will be posted on my DeviantArt account as soon as I either get my tablet fixed or replaced and can color it with the justice it deserves.

I am nearly done with all the original Keyblades i've described throughout the stories; including the new ones given to Kairi, Oncoming Tide and If You Can Dream and the key chains Bryan and Sora received from Master Yen Sid for Christmas in the Christmas Special, Noble Strength and Forever Flying respectively. As soon as they're colored, they'll be posted for all to see!


	27. Illusion Paint Prt 3

A few hours later the six friends arrived at the Benbow Inn. Everyone had covered up with long and lightweight coats to hide what costumes they'd chosen. They wanted their choices to be a surprise even amongst themselves. After being greeted by Jim, Sarah, Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler and an over-enthusiastic B.E.N, they all shed their coats to reveal their choices.

"Whoa, Kairi," Lea said when he saw her costume.

Kairi did indeed look like a sea goddess. Her hair had been combed up with lots of sparkly clips with shells and crystals. Around her neck she wore pearls. Her dress was a two-piece and a light robin's egg blue. The material was feathery-light and soft. Throughout the whole thing were vertical threads of sparkly silver woven in patches to catch the light and glimmer as she moved. The top was a halter-top. The bottom was like a sarong with mid-thigh length skirt beneath it. She also had stuck rhinestone shells on her forehead, shoulders and the backs of her hands.

"Dang, girl!" Lea circled her a few times.

"Kairi, that slit is as high as an elephant's thigh." Bryan said, teasing.

"Will you two ever grow out of puberty!" Kairi scolded them for taking too much notice of how much leg the sarong revealed.

" _He's_ in puberty _I'm_ in love."

Kairi swatted at them both. She missed but it was all in good fun.

Rachel wore a gold, lightweight dress. The dress came up as a halter-top and she wore a simple gold chain with a cut amethyst the size of an acorn. She also had a few simple gold bands on her wrists, a circlet on her head and a big jeweled hairclip with long exotic feathers in her hair.

Sora, Riku and Bryan were all dressed the same, and, oh boy, did they look sharp. All three were in black wingtip shoes and dark charcoal gray pinstripe pants and vests. None of them had shirts beneath the vests to better show off the sweet effects of the paint. Sleeves would kinda defeat the purpose. Bryan and Riku even had sweet matching fedoras. Sora's hair wasn't really a style that accommodated hats very well. Sora and Riku let Rachel use a bit of magic to give them ears to match their illusion. Jim was dressed up as well. As a joke, he decided to go in old-style, traditional pirate attire, wide-brimmed hat and all.

In the quadrant where the planet of Montressor was located, several neighboring planets celebrated a similar holiday at nearly the same time. Surprisingly, the myths behind the holiday's origins weren't that different from the Halloween origin stories on other worlds. Ages ago, agricultural communities, regardless of the planet you were from, held big parties when the time of harvest began, joyous all the hard labor was over; then again when the harvest was over in celebration of the bounty. But the superstitious believed this was also a time when spirits and creatures of the supernatural (strange to think about considering what some of the aliens looked like) were most active or allowed out of their ethereal homes. So the celebrations turned into dressing up spooky to either distract or frighten away the spirits so they left the harvests alone. Now people just liked dressing up, throwing parties, playing games and telling scary stories about ghosts and intergalactic cryptids.

The centerpiece of every table was a near-perfect circular gourd. Jack-o-lanterns were carved out of the purple-gray gourds. Only, most of the carved faces were happy and cheerful. And they were actually called Wager Lamps. The story went that once upon a time a on a far off planet there was no sun. A shepherd boy called out to a sky wanderer, a demi-god like spirit. He begged the spirit to part the clouds above and bless the planet with light. The spirit was arrogant so he made a bet with the shepherd. He would part the clouds and give the planet life but only if the shepherd could create light on his own first and strictly from natural materials. So the shepherd hollowed out a night gourd and carved holes in it. At the bottom he tied a tight knot of long reeds soaked in animal fat. Then he waited until a storm came and lightning struck a tree. He caught the reeds on fire with the smoldering twigs of the lightning-struck tree and the gourd became a makeshift lantern. The sky spirit was furious the simple shepherd had done so well. But he couldn't refuse to hold up his end of the wager. So he only permitted the sun to shine for part of the day. The rest of the time, the shepherd would have to make use of his lamp if he wished to see.

A small band had been set up in a corner and played peppy folk and polka-ish music. There was lots of dancing and a few bursts of traditional songs. Some costumes were reminisce of creatures the key bearers were familiar with. Some guests were dressed to the nine in attire that resembled masquerade gowns and masks. Some looked like vampire nobles. And it was hard to discern sometimes if someone was supposed to be dressed up as a monster or that was just the way they looked. So the friends took great care to compliment people on their costumes.

The group broke up to mingle. The girls were getting a lot of requests to dance. After the bulk of the guests had arrived and had been greeted by Jim and Sarah, and Bryan had taken a turn on the drum set, the two boys paired up to hang out and enjoy the party. Jim and Bryan sat back away from the crowd to talk and share the bottle Bryan had brought. Their costumes got an awful lot of compliments. Everyone wanted to know how Bryan was making himself change color. Some shook his hand in greeting if only to watch his hand turn the color of their own skin or costume.

Morph was going berserk with excitement. He hovered between the two of them for a while. Then, something seemed to have caught his attention and the little pink blob rocketed off. Thinking it was a new item at the buffet table, neither of them thought anything of it. That was until a little while later the mischievous shapeshifter came back with something he hadn't left with.

"What does Morph got?"

The little pink glob hovered in front of Jim's face, wiggling his jelliness like a puppy tail. The Proteus1 native had something that with similar dimensions to a small clam in his mouth. Only thing was the clam-looking thing was made of metal and had a latch on the front. Jim took the thing away and examined it.

"I think it's like a message recorder. It's an older model but I'm sure that's what it is."

"A message recorder?"

"Yeah, only-Morph! You didn't steal this from someone's pocket, did you?"

The little blob shook his head and panted like an ecstatic dog. He nudged Jim's hand, encouraging him to open it. The boys looked at each other then shrugged. If it did belong to someone else, they'd shut it off right away and find out who Morph thought he was being funny with. But…why would someone give him a recording of something at a party he was hosting? Why not just come up and say their piece? Jim popped the latch. Two points of light rose up a little from either side with a thin line of light between them.

" _This private message was recorded on_ -." A cool, female voice relayed the day, year and the time the message was finalized.

Jim and Bryan looked at each other. That was today. And not even thirty minutes ago. Odd. There was also a little strip of paper inside. _List'n in privit setting_. It read. Still odd. Somebody didn't have much skills by way of spelling. So Jim and Bryan broke off from the party and sat on the top step of the stairs to the living quarters of the inn. Jim pressed a narrow button within the device. The thin line of light between the two orbs was in fact a sound wave that scrunched and crinkled as a familiar voice floated out of it; a voice that surprised both of them.

"' _Ello there Jimbo! Has t' say this is the best party I ever seen in all me years. So good te' see yer lovely mother was able te' rebuild yer family business. She's a woman of fine tastes, yer mother. I be hearin' plenty of good things said abou' the ole Benbow! I been takin' care of myself well enough and so good te' see ye doing alrigh' yourself. The finest student at the academy, so I hears."_

Jim and Bryan sat up very straight and stared, bewildered at each other. Pirate captain Long John Silver had been there?! _At the Benbow Inn_? At the party!? The boys leapt to their feet and nearly fell flat on their faces by jumping over several stairs at once to get back downstairs.

" _Jus' before we parted ways I asked what ye saw on the course ahead of ye. Ye said 'a future'. I'd bet me good leg ye never imagined jus' how bright that future could be. Oh, an' 'cause I'm sure ye will, there be no point lookin' fer me in the crowd. I left as soon I gives Morph this message."_

Despite that, Jim and Bryan still tried looking over heads and passed the costumes for a peg leg, mechanical arm or shiny metal eye. They stood at the back of the crowd. Jim held the message pod up between the two of them so they were the only ones to hear.

" _Surprised me te see yer friend Bryan here. I am remem'brin' his name righ', isn't I? Almost didn' recognize him. Hey there, boy! No hard feelin's then? All water under the bridge? Tell yer sister a hello from me too, woncha? She was the one wearin' the feathers, righ'?_

" _Sorry I coul'n' say any of this t' you personally. But as ye know I still be a wanted pirate. But let me tell ye, I can 'ardly wait for the day when I can say I knew the great Captain Jim Hawkins. The words I hear from the ole grapevine promise that will happen soon. I knew ye had greatness in ye. Ye will rattle the stars one day an' the galaxy will become bigger an' brighter when that day comes. Keep that light shinin' off yer sails, Jimbo, an' you'll go further than any rouge dares calls hisself a spacer ever could or ever will_."

The recording ended.

The boys could hardly believe it. Jim turned away from Bryan, pulling his hat over his eyes. The old pirate had been in this very room. On the recording, Bryan recognized the music of the band, B.E.N. announcing the buffet table was open and the various buzzes of conversation in the background. Bryan remembered back to their adventures on the legendary Treasure Planet. Silver initially came across as the greedy bad guy willing to do anything to claim the treasure of the galaxy's most famous pirate. But when push came to shove, Silver came through; proving his greed couldn't overcome an otherwise good heart. Before that, Jim had found a friend in the old cyborg during the months of sailing to the mythical planet. Even though Jim saw the good in the cyborg, he was still a wanted pirate and Jim hadn't seen hide nor gear of him since the day they parted. And the scallywag had been within spitting distance for who knows how long that very night.

Bryan put a consoling hand on Jim's shoulder. Jim quickly half-glanced at him in appreciation before turning away again. Bryan was about to say something but a trumpeting sound silenced the room. It was now an hour after nightfall; marking the time, per tradition, that the holiday traditions begin. Jim pulled himself together, gave another appreciative nod to Bryan then joined his mother as hosts of the party to begin the next act of the night.

Kids played a game similar to pin the tail on the donkey, only the creature they were pinning a 'tail' on was unlike anything they'd ever seen. Guests gathered to share tales of spooky monsters and legends. Monsters were a bit of an obscure term considering so many of the alien inhabitants of this galaxy had extra eyes, tentacles, a full range of body types…you name it. But there were plenty of stories of ghosts and phantoms that either liked to scare or cause trouble. There were versions of vampires but they liked to focus on draining people of spinal fluid, fat or even their souls. And each one looked different or was found on other planets. Lake monsters were of course common regardless of where you went. Whether they were big, small, serpentine, mammalian, most lake monsters were agreed to be mean, bring bad luck and have lots of big teeth. Even B.E.N had his moment of fame by telling first-hand stories of notorious pirate Captain Flint. Legends were just as much fun as tales of the supernatural. If only the guests knew the ship once captained by the infamous thief was parked just outside. Yeah, the make-over Hermes gave the battered ship years ago made it mostly unrecognizable to its former self, but the base design was obviously from this world.

At midnight, glasses were raised in a toast and Sarah thanked everyone for coming and making the party such a marvelous event with good friends. As the crowd began to thin, Bryan insisted that he'd stay and help clean up. Everyone did. Sarah was grateful and the bulk of the work was finished in no time (taking into account most of the group were extremely well-versed in magic).

"Jim," Bryan said just as the troupe was departing the inn and ready to board the King. "You okay?" He asked, referring of course to the message and the fact an old friend had been right under their noses and they had no idea.

"I'm fine," Jim insisted. "I'm actually glad that he left that message," Jim took out the message pod from his pocket. "It's good to know after all this time he's okay. And hey, I'm sure Morph was over the moons to see him again. And…who knows? Our paths may one day cross again, today was just not that day. And there are still a lot of days ahead for that to happen."

Bryan smiled at his friends optimism. They fist-bumped as a form of goodbye and Bryan followed went back to his ship.

"That was great!" Sora was saying.

"Saw that one lizard lady giving you the eye." Riku teased him.

"Why do you think I suddenly decided to dance with Kairi?"

"Did you see the looks Lea was getting?" Kairi laughed.

"It was like they couldn't tell if that was a costume or how he really was but too afraid to ask." Rachel said.

"I might leave this on until it wears off." Lea said.

Bryan climbed the steps to the bridge. As he took the helm, he looked over The Sky King. He thought back to the adventure on Treasure Planet. On the main deck where his friends had gathered now was the same place where he and Rachel fought the Gilded Entwiner while Jim worked to make the ship flyable. Bryan wasn't typically the reminiscing type but after what happened at the party, he couldn't help but look back on the time he first met the cyborg captain and, in a way, became a captain himself when he and his sister claimed the legendary ship. He smiled. Good times.

"Kay, Bryan! Let's go!"

Rachel waved to her brother while jogging backwards toward the bow. With a glitter of light she called her Keyblade and in a flash it attached to the ship. A power could be felt through the ship as it now had the power to cross worlds. Smiling, Bryan spun the helm. After a great day, it was time to go home.


	28. Lea and Rachel

"What's the matter with Sora?" Rachel asked Lea one morning. She'd come in for breakfast to find to find Sora sitting with his head on the table. He looked very drained and wasn't talking to anybody.

"I think I broke Sora."

"Huh?"

"He's been trying to figure out a quandary I gave him earlier. A few, actually."

"Dare I ask?"

"I just asked him why glue doesn't stick to the inside of the bottle. And who closes the door when the bus driver gets off."

"I've thought about that myself actually."

"Then I followed up with another thought."

"Oh boy."

"What if cookies are actually alive and when we dunk them and the bubbles stop coming up, that means they've been successfully drowned and we're all mass murderers for the sake of a sweet tooth?"

"You're evil."

"And this was all after he was reeling from a realization he came up with on his own."

"Excuse me?"

"He discovered the sad truth that the numbers on a toaster are minutes of cooking, not levels of toastiness. And zucchini bread is more of a dessert than a healthy snack."

"You monster! You took advantage of him while in an already emotionally fragile state!"

"I know, I'm the worst."

* * *

Lea came down a narrow hallway alone. Kairi had been asking everyone in turn to run the obstacle course with her. She was very determined to learn how her styles mixed with everyone else's and how to best utilize it.

Suddenly a little bell rang and he froze. This couldn't be good. Rachel jumped out from the end of the hallway like she were triumphantly shouting 'Surprise!' at a surprise party. But the atmosphere changed immediately when she saw who it was.

" _Oh no_! You've got to be kidding me!"

Lea stopped, surprised by such a greeting and her expression of a child who got socks and underwear for Christmas when she saw him.

"Nope, still this handsome."

She stomped her foot. "You were supposed to be Sora! This would be so much funnier if it were him in my trap!"

"That's refreshing to hear. What were you planning to do?"

"Guess there's no point hiding it now. C'mon," She ushered. "It's down this way."

With his guard down, Lea followed. Seconds later he realized his mistake. He only took a few steps before he felt a tug around his ankle. A tripwire…he wasn't even a little bit surprised. And there was no time to look up when the box rigged to the ceiling above him opened and showered him with packing peanuts.

* * *

"Oh! Oh,oh,oh,oh! Lea! Lea! Just the kind, helpful, generous soul I was looking for."

"Whatever you want the answer's no."

"Who says I want anything?"

"You're being nice to me."

"Well if you're up for helping me out with something-."

"No."

"Please?"

"Why would I help you?"

"Because we're fweinds!"

"Uh-huh."

"Please."

"No."

"At least I'm asking this time!"

"And that doesn't make me feel much better. For all I know, you've got something really bad planned and want my consent first so it's all my fault if I don't like it."

"It's not bad or embarrassing! I promise!"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Pwease?"

"Go away."

" _Please_!"

"No!"

" _Pleeeeeease_!"

"NO!"

" _Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeeeease_!"

" _Alright_!"

"YAY!"

"If I regret this decision in any way, so will you."

Later

"Guys! Guys, guys, guys! Come in here! You gotta see this!"

"New magic?" Sora asked. It was always pretty cool to see what new tricks she brought back.

"New _transformation_ magic."

"Wait a minute," Bryan said. He did a head count. "Where's Lea?"

"Helping me out. C'mon!"

"Willingly?"

"Actually, yes."

Rachel ushered her friends into the room nearest them. Standing tall and proud on a wide-topped pedestal was a shimmering ruby peacock. The glistening tail draped around the pedestal like the train of a royal bride. He held his head up high and deliberately kept his glance away from them in a high-and-mighty, haughty sort of way.

"Whoa! Is that Lea?" Kairi gasped.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Handsomest I've ever seen him. Or he's ever going to be." Bryan said.

Peacock-Lea gave him the stink-eye with a low-throated squawk.

"Ignore him," Rachel said. "Lea, show them the best part!"

Peacock-Lea lifted his tail from around the pedestal, stood up tall, puffed out his chest and with a hefty shake fanned his magnificent feathers. A collection of 'oooooh's' immediately followed. The crimson fan shimmered as he moved, the 'eyes' were emerald green, like his own eyes.

"That is awesome." Bryan admitted.

"Lea, um, this may sound strange but, um, may I have one?" Kairi asked.

Peacock-Lea shrugged (as best a creature with no distinguishable shoulders could). So Kairi took hold of the longest one she could find and yanked as carefully as she could. He flinched but made no sound.

"Oooooh! Pretty!" Kairi said, admiring her new feather.

"Riku next!" Sora announced.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, why am I getting volunteered?"

"Whenever you change into an animal you're always silvery. I want to see what a white peacock looks like!"

"No."

* * *

"What are these?"

"Just read the plaque!"

Rachel had gone down into the collection vaults of the sorcery training castle to look for magical items she could test or try to master herself. But magical items weren't the only things in the vaults. Thousands of aspiring sorcerers and their teachers had collected all sorts of items from different worlds throughout the generations and across time periods. Sometimes the items were great or held some significance; such as works of arts or classic literature. Other times, the items were just fun or whimsical things the collectors found interesting.

Only Rachel wasn't expecting Lea to visit to see what she did when away from the Tower. And when he did, his mission seemed to stick close to be annoying as much as getting a look around the amazing castle. He kept asking her what the things on the shelves were even though everything was carefully documented as to what it was, what it did and where it came from.

Rachel had left the vault with a few magic items as well fun items for herself. Before she could stop him, Lea snatched a small tin from her pile.

"What are these? Pills?" He opened the tin and inspected the round, white somethings. "What's an Altoid?" He asked, reading the top of the tin. It didn't clue him in at all as to what they were supposed to be.

"It's a mint."

"They don't smell very minty."

"Don't let them fool you. They're called the 'The Curiously Strong Mint' and with good reason. Once your spit starts breaking it down there's an explosion of minty goodness."

"Curiously strong? Just how potent can a breath mint be?"

"Oh trust me, they'll make your eyes cross. I can only take one at a time before it's too much."

"Yeah, sure. It's just a mint."

"Really! I don't know how they packed so much pure mint into that little- _omigosh_! What are you doing!?"

Not believing that a breath mint could be that strong, Lea had taken a large handful from the tin and popped them all in at once. Rachel looked at him with an expression of horror. You'd've thought she'd witnessed someone get beheaded right in front of her.

"See? No big deal."

"Just give it a minute." Rachel promised.

Lea just looked at her with a smarmy, you-got-worked-up-for-nothing smirk. However, that soon changed. As the outer layer of the mint dissolved, he realized she hadn't been kidding or exaggerating. Only, after dismissing her so blatantly, he couldn't just come out and admit he was wrong. With all his willpower Lea kept as straight a face as he could. But the more the mints broke down the more pungent they got.

"You okay?"

Lea shook his head. It was beyond the point where he could put up a brave front. His taste buds couldn't handle it. His nose had never been so clear. He could _taste_ the mint through his nose! How was that possible!? He'd probably have fresh breath for the next year and have a clear nose for the rest of his life. The muscles around his left eye were beginning to involuntarily twitch.

"It's okay, you don't have to be brave, I won't judge."

It was about then when Riku came by to visit. He looked very surprised to see Lea there. Riku glanced around the room, cautiously looking for something. Rachel gave him the 'OK' gesture with her hand that all was well. If Lea had seen the display of nonverbal communication he wouldn't have understood it but probably wouldn't have really cared in his current state.

"What's wrong with him? Is he crying?"

"Probably just involuntary watering. He thought he could manage a huge mouthful or really pungent m-."

" _Wha-how_!"

Lea made a holler-like whoop at an octave range that surprised both Rachel and Riku. Under the pressure of a sensory overload, something had to give. Next time, he'd certainly not dismiss anything Rachel warned him to be wary of. Dang, was it possible to taste something through your eyes?

* * *

Rachel and Bryan walked together to their room; Seger at Bryan's heels. It had been a good day of training for everyone. Bryan wanted to go up against her in a strictly macho versus magic fight. It went really good but they'd worn themselves out doing it. Still, good skills to know.

It was also nice for Rachel to come back to the Tower once in a while to sleep in her usual bed. Tatania also liked coming back to her original queendom and remind the residents there the queen was still in charge.

"What do you think about tomorrow before you go I'm the one fighting with magic and you fight with brawn?"

"That would certainly be an interesting change."

"Think you could do it?"

"Of course I could, I can do anyth-hey!"

The siblings had opened the door to their room only there was a slight change in the décor. Everything on Rachel's side of the room had been wrapped in tin foil. Everything! The pillows were wrapped in it. The poles of the four-poster bed were covered. The candlestick on the nightstand. The bottle of ink. Even the quill! Every single book had been individually wrapped. The fishbowl had been wrapped too! The pictures and knick-knacks on the mantle of her fireplace hadn't escaped either. And to take the cake, even the log in the fireplace was covered with foil.

Rachel could only stare, appalled at the scene. Bryan just walked by her casually and observed with mild interest.

"Interesting choice of redecorating." He said.

"Ha ha." She said dryly. With a wave of her hand all the foil dissolved away. "Well played, Lea, well played," She growled.

"Why be upset when it was that easy to fix?"

"It's the principle. He keeps inconveniencing me with all the time I have to spend thinking of how to retaliate."

* * *

"Oh dang! This is bad."

"You bet it is! How did you manage that!"

"I don't know! I barely touched it!"

"I've been living here for years and I've never broken anything in the Tower that wasn't accident related to training of any kind. You've only been here…yep, you're in trouble."

"But magic can fix anything, right? You can patch this up before Yen Sid finds out I broke it!"

"I think it would be the principal that you were clumsy and not paying attention."

"But not if you fix it quickly! He'll never know!"

"But if I fix it with magic, then a bit of my magic signature will be on it. He'll know I did something to it. And if you think I'm taking a dive for you, you're out of your spiny-headed mind."

"Okay, uh, let's look at it this way: on a scale of one to ten, just how dead am I?"

"Can I have that shiny spinny thing on your nightstand? I don't know what it is, but I like it."

"Ha ha."

"You asked."

* * *

A few days later Rachel got her chance to get back at Lea; with

a little bit of help. It was one of those infrequent days where training to save the world took a backseat to enjoying an afternoon with friends. So the group went back to the Destiny Islands for a fun day at the beach. Only Rachel had asked something of Kairi right before they headed out.

No one else was on the little island that day so that was perfect. It wasn't even twenty minutes before Sora suggested going swimming. They went to the rocky area Sora, Riku and Kairi took Rachel and Bryan the first time they visited the Island. The rocks were great for jumping off and into the water. So Sora and Riku took the lead by shedding off their outermost layer of clothing and shoes.

"Want to all jump in at once?" Bryan suggested.

No one had any objections so the boys all lined up. At that time, Rachel gave Kairi The Nod. Kairi gave her the 'okay' signal and quickly but inconspicuously took something wrapped in silk from her side pouch. Milliseconds before the boys took the plunge, she clipped the item on one of Lea's belt loops. Then, not to arouse any suspicion, the girls took the dive too.

It took longer than one might think it would for Lea to notice what had happened. When it did, well, it wasn't pretty. _Well_ …not so much _pretty_ as kinda hilarious. Lea completely wigged out when he realized what had changed. Rachel and Bryan stayed up to their eyes in the water so their transformation wouldn't be immediately noticed.

"Gosh, Lea, what's with all the stuttering? Just come out and say what's bothering you?" Sora said.

"Maybe he landed on an urchin and the pain is beyond words. I can understand that feeling." Riku suggested. They weren't in on the joke but weren't at all surprised when they saw the bright red sparkle of scales beneath the waves so they played along.

"Which one of you did this to me!"

Naturally Lea turned to Rachel with a suspicious glare. She put on her best I'm-hurt-how-could-you-possibly-suspect-me pout. His eyes narrowed but he couldn't put all the evil edge to his voice as he'd like because he was having a hard time treading water. So Rachel pointed a it-wasn't-me finger at Kairi.

"You're a sell-out!" Kairi hissed.

"It's _your_ shell now!"

"It was _your_ idea!"

"You didn't _have_ to do it!"

For those who have forgotten, Rachel and Bryan bestowed upon the island trio one of the magical shells they acquired in Neverland on their first adventure. The shells transformed the holder into merpeople when in deep enough water. For convenience, the brother and sister team kept the shells clipped on their belts believing their magic would prove useful in the future. Only problem was the effects became permanent after years of such close proximity to the powerful mermaid magic. Since they didn't need the shells anymore, they gave one for Sora, Riku and Kairi to use. So Rachel suggested to Kairi they surprise Lea with the power of the shells. Everyone but Lea knew about the shells and had personally experienced their powers. Oddly, the only thing that survived the transformations were tops for girls and the belts the shell was clipped on. What happened to everything else was largely a mystery since everything was suddenly back to normal once out of the water.

Rachel and Bryan did underwater 'handstand' and waved with the ends of their tails. Bryan dove then unclipped the shell. He tossed it to Kairi. He knew she'd want to use it. Once everybody had their tails, the group dove. Lea didn't like being tricked but went along with the fun anyway. It took him a minute to get himself coordinated but in no time he was racing through the water with his friends.

* * *

The problem with two friends throwing pranks at each other like an intense tennis match is there was always the risk of someone taking a joke personally or the prank itself going a little too far. Rachel and Lea had been massaging the limit of 'too far' for a while. But eventually the line was crossed and Master Yen Sid stepped in and forbade the prank war from continuing.

Friends could pull a fast one on each other from time to time, that was to be expected. Friends could talk playful smack or could be total jackanapes around one another and still understand completely the others intensions were not meant to be taken too seriously. So long as both parties know and respect the limits, that was just part of the whole friendship experience.

But the prank war had to stop. Sora, Riku, Kairi and Bryan were actually a bit surprised it took so long before Master told them enough was enough. They would be permitted to pull one more prank each before they had to ease up. The others were a little leery about what Lea and Rachel's swan song might be. They wouldn't even be on the receiving end and they were nervous!

There was a tension in the air surrounding Rachel and Lea that you could taste. They were very suspicious of the other at all times. Who would strike first? Who wanted to be the one to have the last laugh? And what could the last hoo-rah be? Obviously it had to be good. The final send-off had to go out with a bang.

Lea struck first. How he knew when and where Rachel would be, he never said. Nobody could figure out how he got all the necessary pieces to line up but he had. He somehow managed to get her alone. In a hallway. At a run. The same hallway he had just laid out a layer of super glue. Rachel ended up flat on her face. Her shoes were left several feet behind her, stuck solid to the floor.

Rachel took her revenge the next morning. Breakfast was tense. Lea knew it was his turn and the blow could fall at any moment. Lea and Rachel greeted each other with false niceties and small talk that sounded stiff and scripted.

"Any idea what she's planning?" Kairi whispered to Sora.

Sora shook his head. "She probably doesn't want to risk anyone tipping him off."

"I'm wondering if she's topped what he did." Bryan whispered to them.

"Is it bad that I'm hoping she has?" Riku asked.

"She's your girlfriend, of course you do." Kairi said to him.

"So! Um, what's the plan for today?" Sora asked at normal voice level to try and diffuse the tension.

"Yeah, Rachel, what _is_ the plan for today?" Lea asked cockily.

"My finest work, that's what." She promised.

"I'm kinda glad there's only one more then this is over." Kairi whispered.

"Me too," Sora agreed. "It's been entertaining to watch but the tension is awful."

"But does this mean none of us can poke fun at the others ever again?"

"Only at the Tower." Bryan reminded. "What can Master do when we're on other worlds?"

"I guess that's true."

"Um, so, what do we do after breakfast?" Riku asked. "Is there anything sp-?"

A disgusted 'gluah-ck' noise and sputter interrupted Riku. Instinctively, they all looked between Rachel and Lea. Lea had spat out a mouthful of breakfast on his plate. Rachel sat back leisurely in her chair, casually sipping her morning cocoa with a look of lazily contemplating the universe.

It was well known by now that Lea was partial to a jelly donut or two with, or for breakfast each day. Since he seemed to be one of those types who could eat a whole pastry store and not gain an ounce no one said anything about it. But the thing with falling into patterns is that people tend to pick up on them. That morning, Rachel had siphoned out all the jelly from the donuts…

…and replaced it with mustard.

And thus the prank war reached its conclusion.


	29. Heart Songs

Evenings at the Tower usually ended about the same way every night. Everyone (mostly everyone as Rachel didn't always jump between the training castle and the Tower every night) tended to gather in the grand study; one of the most comfortable rooms in the Tower. It seemed to operate like the magic kitchen. There were always enough chairs or small couches for everyone. The moment before you decided to enter, the huge stone fireplace roared to life. In the evenings, Master Yen Sid would often sit with the key bearers, sharing stories, knowledges about the Keyblade, powers and tricks they could try the next day, or just in general, to name a few. Merlin or the good fairies would sometimes be there to for a cup of tea and conversation.

Of course there was always the discussion of what Xehanort might be planning, knowing they'd have to keep their eyes and ears open wherever they went and preparing themselves mentally as well as physically for the inevitable showdown. Xehanort had proven time and time again to be a master manipulator, knowing exactly how to wedge in seeds of doubt or exploit moments of weakness. Even though the key bearers were aware of this, that didn't mean he would try again.

But that evening, Yen Sid wasn't there. Not that big a surprise really. He did have a lot of things on his mind lately with the training of new Keyblade Masters and Xehanort's impending strike. Still, that didn't stop the friends from gathering for a few hours before bed in the study all the same. Sometimes they talked, other times they barely said a word.

That evening, the first sound that disrupted the chatter of the fireplace was the crashing of a paper airplane on a book. Sora had set sail the paper craft over to Rachel, where it came to a sudden halt against the cover of her journal. Her response was a ' _Really_?' look but Sora mimed unfolding the paper. So she did and took a second to read it.

"Who told you about Heart Songs?" She asked. The others looked up, alerted by the first person to speak as well as trying to figure out who the question was directed at.

"Bryan." Sora answered. "He played the music for me and Kairi in the Hall of Gardens when we came to the Tower that time Master Yen Sid was away. He said he could hear the music and you could give it words."

"What's a Heart Song?" Lea asked.

"Every heart has a rhythm, or song as well as its balance of light and darkness." Bryan began.

"Somehow Bryan and I can hear the sounds of the heart. He hears the music, I hear the song." Rachel continued. "It can't be translated to perfection; the heart is too complicated for that."

"But we feel we do it justice all the same." Bryan finished. "Even though I hear the music and she hears song they don't always match up if played together."

"Really?" Kairi asked. "Why wouldn't they?"

"We don't know." Rachel answered.

"We tried it with our own songs once. She played what she heard from my song, and I did the same. The words and the music we put together went together okay. But when it was her turn, what I heard and what she heard…we couldn't get it to line up."

"Yet at the same time they both felt right."

"Is that the one…?" Riku asked her.

"Yes." Rachel answered. He didn't need to finish the thought for her to know he was referring to just before they said goodbye when the Masters came to the Island for the first time. After she shared his Heart Song on the balcony of the treehouse, he'd asked to hear hers. "Sora, come hither!"

Sora jumped up from his seat and slipped on the chair next to Rachel.

"What's this?" Lea asked.

"Shoosh." Rachel said. She turned to Sora. "Close your eyes." With her hands on either side of Sora's face they were both very still for several moments as she listened and then made sense of what she heard. "I like that one." Rachel finally said.

"Will you sing it?" Sora asked.

"Of course." The Master called her Keyblade, switched it to Ocean Song and laid it across her lap. "Your Heart Song goes something kinda sorta like this."

Everyone else stopped what they were doing. The song within Sora's heart? This they had to listen to.

" _I put myself on a limb, and I feel it giving way from the weight of the rain. If I break or I bend, I get myself together again, put my face to the wind._

 _It might be a long, long way to my golden day. That's a chance I'm willing to take. There's no chain, no cage that I won't break in this long, long leap of faith._

 _I close my eyes…and I walk right to the edge, put my hands to the sky. Oh, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to live this life through my dreaming eyes._ "

The chorus repeated once. Sora had his eyes closed with a content smile on his face.

" _To a rocket I've been tied, I'm headed for the screamin' ride. It's full of fuel and I just lit the fuse._

 _I'm a ragin', burnin' ring of fire and I get hotter as I get higher and I'm burnin' a hole right through the sky of blue._

 _In this long, long leap of faith_."

When Rachel was finished, Sora gave her a sorrowful look, like he was sad the song was over.

" _He's_ a 'raging, burning ring of fire'?" Lea said first.

"That's all you pulled from that?" Sora snapped (or at least snapped as sharply as someone that nice could manage).

"It is a rough translation." Rachel reminded.

"Leap of faith…" Kairi said thoughtfully, thinking back on the lyrics. Whether figurative or literal, so much matched Sora's personality and the way he approached life and people. He always chose to see the good first and had a way of bouncing back no matter what he was hit with. "Okay! My turn!" The princess jumped on the loveseat, squeezing in between and subsequently pushing Sora off. "I know what the music sounds like, now I want to hear the words!" She scooted closer to Rachel and held still, waiting her turn.

Rachel laughed and put her hands on Kairi's face like she had with Sora.

"Are we all getting a turn, then?" Lea asked the others while Rachel was concentrating.

"Not me." Bryan and Riku said together.

"Why not?"

"Didn't I say a minute ago I already know my Heart Song?" Bryan said.

"I know mine too." Riku added.

"When did you hear yours?" Lea asked Riku.

"First time was back on our Island. The second was actually not that long ago when the song changed."

"Your song changed?"

Riku shrugged. "Enough of myself changed since I met her that the song had to change too."

"Quiet please!" Kairi said. She sat back with her hands on her knees, happily waiting.

"This is very nice too," Rachel said. She took a breath and began singing.

" _Let your world…be wide open. And your fears…be blown apart  
May your voice be louder than bombs. Somewhere in silence find one to trust_

 _Lift your head up, untie the knot. My little sunshine, Hope is never light years away_

 _Let your senses be ignited by streams of neon singing in the dark  
Connected…to the promise. A million neighbors, a sea of stars_

 _Lift your head up, untie the knot. My little sunshine, Hope is never light years away_

 _Leaders… lovers…come and go. Outside…forces you can't control  
I see you smiling at the unknown. I see you smiling at The Unknown_!"

Rachel was really feeling the music. So was Kairi. Especially Kairi. The girls stood up and danced with each other as the chorus was repeated several times.

Kairi's laugh sounded like a chorus of bells. She hugged Rachel and they both jumped up and down on their toes. "I love that!"

"Hey, _I_ did nothing. This was all you. That being said, that was so much fun."

"Ok, now sing Bryan's." Lea said.

"No." Bryan said flatly.

"Ok then, Riku's."

"No."

"Lea?"

"Maybe later."

"No fair! You want to hear everyone else's but won't let us hear yours?"

* * *

"Hey Rachel, hold up."

Later on after the group broke up to go to bed, Lea headed Rachel off.

"What's up?"

"I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I want to hear my Heart Song."

"Oh? Okay. Why not before?"

Lea explained his concerns. After all he had been through the last several years and all the things he had done, the good and the bad, he wasn't sure what his heart would sing. Even among understanding friends, he was leery and didn't want to share with the entire group. If he didn't like or was ashamed of what he heard, Lea would rather it be between just one friend sworn to secrecy instead of five.

Rachel respected that and listened to his song. After a second of listening, Rachel stepped back, hands over her mouth and an awed glimmer in her eye.

"Oh, Lea,"

"What? What is it?"

"That's beautiful!"

"It is?"

Rachel smiled and happily sang Leas' Heart Song.

" _To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe. To bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go._

 _To right the un-rightable wrong, and to love, pure, and chaste from afar. To try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star!_

 _This is my quest to follow that star. No matter how hopeless, no matter how far. To be willing to give, when there is no more to give. To be willing to die so that Honor and Justice may live._

 _And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest._

 _And all the world will be better for this. That one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star!"_

Lea was silent. What could he say? It felt like the entire world lined up and everything made perfect sense. To follow the quest no matter the challenges, no matter the impossibilities, he really felt that was where his heart was at. He meant what he promised a long time ago he would always be there to bring his friends home. No matter what was in his way, he would always be loyal to that.

"I guess…I guess I didn't have anything to worry about."

"I knew you wouldn't. Good night, Lea."

"Good night."

* * *

 _The Heart Songs that are shared for Sora and Kairi are "_ Leap of Faith _" By country duo Big n' Rich and "_ The Unknown _" By Black Swan respectively. Rachel's song hasn't changed since Act 3. Leas' song, "_ The Impossible Dream _" is from the musical, Man of La Mancha. An adapted version from the original and a version done by Frank Sinatra. (There's also a phenomenal version by a guy called Rhydian) And don't worry, you'll all hear Bryan's Heart Song in due time. Thought I'd share this now instead of in the appendix so you could listen along if you wanted._


	30. Lottery of Mischief

Sora and friends certainly thought their past exploits had taught and bestowed them with incredible skills, strengths and knowledge; that was until official and proper training began at the Mysterious Tower. At this point, the friends astounded themselves with the new skills and wisdoms they'd learned. With their combined powers and teamwork, they were beginning to wonder if the final showdown against Xehanort was anything they needed to be worried about. Yes, overconfidence is the dinner bell for Karma but there are just some days you feel like you can take on the world blindfolded and standing on one foot. But training to be great warriors for the sake of world balance and peace sometimes took a backseat to just hanging out with the guys. Such was a time when Rachel and Kairi left for a while to have a girls afternoon, leaving the guys alone to do something arguably stupid.

"I think the four of us need to have something ridiculous we can do together." Sora began.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

"I mean like how Rachel and Lea had their prank war. We should have something that the four of us can do that's fun and mischievous."

"A way we can bond and embarrass each other at the same time? Just us guys?" Bryan suggested. "Before the final scores of our first bet are tallied soon?"

"Exactly."

"So, you're saying we need an activity where three of us can laugh it up at the expense of the fourth."

"Well when you say it like that,"

"I thought that's what the date dare was for."

"Well that's going to be a one-off, this we can keep going."

"What exactly could we do though? Master Yen Sid said no more pranks." Lea reminded. That really sucked. Because after the sorcerer said no more Lea got a huge wave of inspiration that he had no outlet for.

"A series of dares? It'd be like our bet earlier. It's not a prank so it shouldn't count."

"That could work."

"What would the limits be? Because it would be hilarious to see one of you guys serenade some random girl at the top of your voice."

"Oh! That's good!"

"No it isn't!"

"Hey!" Bryan snapped his fingers once a great idea came to him. "I got it. We make it like a lottery."

"A lottery?" Sora asked.

"Like when kids divide up tasks by putting the chores in a hat and whatever you pull you have to perform. It'd be the same thing."

"So we make a list of crazy dares, put them in a hat or something and whatever you pull, you have to do?" Riku confirmed.

"Why not?" Lea said. "Be even better considering you might pull your own suggestion."

"Now _there's_ an interesting twist." Bryan said. He raised his hand. "Who's all in?"

Right away three hands went up.

So the list was created.

"How long will these last?" Riku asked.

"Some I guess will just be a one-off." Bryan answered. "Others could last all day, some just for an hour…sound good?"

"So long as this one doesn't last all day," Sora said, pointing to the third scribbled suggestion.

"Okay, write this down," Riku told Bryan. He was the one writing things down. Which was not necessarily the best choice since he had the worst handwriting. "For a whole day, you have to talk only in rhyme."

"Oh, I can top that." Lea said with an evil smirk. "For a whole day, you have to _sing_ every time you talk. It doesn't have to be an actual song but there has to be some kind of tune when you say it."

"I _really_ hope you get that one." Sora laughed.

"Just so long as it's not me." Bryan said, finishing up the writing. As much as Bryan was musically inclined, he did _not_ sing. He left that strictly to his sister.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sora went tense and wide-eyed as a sweet idea just came to him. "Let's make this a _double_ lottery."

"How does that work?" Riku asked.

"One bowl has the penalties in it, the other has our names! One of us draws from the hat with our names in it. That decides _who_ is doing the dare. Then the victim has to draw their punishment."

"Well whadd'ya know," Lea said with a mix of false awe and disbelief. "Sora _does_ have a dark side. And I've got another one, end every sentence in 'in accordance to the prophesy' or something like that."

"Now that _I_ can top," Sora said, grinning. He tapped the side of his head at his temple. "End absolutely every sentence with 'got it memorized'!"

Lea rolled his eyes but smiled. Bryan looked between the two of them.

"So…does that mean something?"

"Oh right, Lea stopped saying that when he came here."

So Bryan got a quick recap. Still didn't mean that much to him but they did agree how that would get very annoying if spoken all day.

So the lottery began. The first day, Bryan had to walk through all doorways backwards, _all day_. The day after, Lea had to talk in rhyme. He did all he could not to speak at all because he irritated himself sounding like a greeting card. After that, Sora had to stand up and spin in a circle every time someone said one of their names. So the other guys made sure to address each other by name every chance they got. By the end of it Sora was quite dizzy. The day after that: Riku.

"Riku!" Rachel pounced on him at breakfast with a big hug. "Good morning!"

He replied with a return hug and a quick kiss.

"Riku," Lea scolded, "Don't you have anything to _say_ to your girlfriend?"

"Not now," Riku glared at Lea.

"Is everything all right?" Rachel asked, a bit confused.

"Everything is fine." Riku answered stiffly. "There is nothing wrong."

Rachel cocked her head at him like a puzzled pigeon. "Why are you talking like that? It's like you're thinking too hard about the words."

"I'm being careful."

"Careful?"

"Yes. Please don't ask."

"Oh no," Lea interrupted. "Please, feel free to ask him anything you like. Talking is encouraged."

Rachel looked back at Riku. "What is he talking about?"

Riku closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. "It's just another two of the dares between the fo-five of us guys. And threeday was my turn three lose."

Rachel looked at him oddly for a second. She let go and stepped back. "Riku…repeat after me, _I picked a bouquet of tulips for the one I love_."

Riku narrowed his eyes at her. "I picked a bouquet of threelips five the two I love."

"Uh-huh."

Rachel stepped back again to look behind Riku. In the back of the room Bryan and Sora were going through that squeaky, leaking air sounding laugh and trying to keep quiet about it. Bryan was smiling like an idiot when his sister came up to him and put her arm around his shoulder in a casual, buddy-buddy sort of way.

"Bryan," She said.

" _Yes_?" He answered, his voice pinched from trying not to laugh.

"Why is my boyfriend speaking in Inflation?"

"Is he? I-I hadn't noticed." Bryan tried to say innocently.

"This has something to do with you."

"Oh? It does?"

"You're the only person I've told about Inflationary Language, and yet here Riku is speaking it. Why?"

"I guess I listen to you more than even I thought I did. Oh, and just a heads up, one of us might be using Vocal Punctuation in the next few days."

She blinked. "One of you? Using Vocal Punctuation? Oh that'll be hilarious."

"Yeah, especially if it's Riku!"

"Oh boy,"

"No, I hope it's Lea."

"You always want Lea to be the victim."

"Because he's easy. And especially after the water beetle."

"You still can't prove that was me."

Bryan actually had to speak in Vocal Punctuation the next day (google it). Like Lea and Riku, he did all that he could to avoid speaking as he could. Bryan was unlucky enough to get his name drawn the day after that too. Every time he entered a room, he had to pick from whoever was in that room and give one of them a hug for the count of six steamboats. The fates aligned for that one since Bryan was the least huggy of the group.

Training continued despite the guys talking or acting bizarre for those days until all the dares had been used up. Funnily enough, their creativity had run dry at the same time the training regimen they'd placed their first wager on was over. One series of stupidity was finished just in time for the ultimate punishment. The awkwardness would be unmatched. Dignity would be kicked to the-no, _punted_ to the curb. Second-hand embarrassment would be just as bad as the real thing. This would be the ultimate test of their friendship thus far. Who would win? And who would be forced to hold up their heads up high and accept a loss with grace and honor the terms of the agreement?


	31. Double Dare Prt 2

" _ **You have GOT to be kidding me**_!"

A few short weeks later (with plenty of fun things happening in between) the final scores of the big, awkward, stupid, awful wager went as follows. Bryan, 54.5. Riku, 55. Sora, 55.5. And Lea, 56. It wasn't that big a surprise that the scores were so incredibly close. The closer the deadline came, the harder the four of them fought for points.

Sora could hardly believe his luck that his half point saved him from the penalty of their challenge. But what had surprised him even more was the fact he'd won _over_ Riku. No, it wasn't by much but something-and-a-half was still a bigger number.

Even after several panic-y recounts the final scores still showed Sora and Lea to be the winners. And the scoreboard had been enchanted to ensure no cheating. There was no way the numbers were incorrect. And then began the gloating. Even solid-sense-of-fairplay-Sora couldn't pass up the chance to do a smarmy victory dance. Bryan and Riku were in a mix of shock, painful humility, fury and an ever-growing prickle of panic. How the heck could this have happened! _**To them**_! There was no way they'd be getting out of this. They'd agreed and made it binding. And the 'gracious winners' were the only ones who could call the whole thing off. No way that was going to happen. Not a snowballs' chance.

"Sora," Lea said with a horrific grin. "I think we should find something to do to celebrate our well-deserved victory."

"Keep talking like that and you'll be eating your own ear." Bryan warned dangerously.

Lea and Sora continued talking as though he hadn't spoken. "You know, Lea, I believe you're right. Winning _is_ cause for celebration."

"This may end our friendship with them," Riku said to Bryan seriously. "Already their attitudes are…" He couldn't even think of the proper way to describe just how despicable it was so he settled for a violent gesture of strangling them.

"Come, friend." Lea bowed and made an ushering gesture to Sora. "I'm sure the kitchen will have prepared for us something befitting the victors."

"If we kill them, does that mean the deal's off?" Bryan 'whispered' to Riku.

"But then we'd have to hide their bodies." Riku answered.

* * *

"I can't do it. I physically can't do it. I just can't."

Bryan and Riku had decided to go and fulfill the next portion of the bet while the others were away. Last thing they needed was a gloating panel of spectators making a bad situation worse.

"You think you got it bad?" Riku grumbled in more of a growl as they made their way to the last known location of where Rachel had been. "I've got to ask my girlfriend to turn me into her girlfriend… _ylech_ , that felt so weird to say."

"Oh you're a laugh." Bryan answered crossly. "I've got to ask my _sister_ to turn me into her sister."

"Touché. Neither Sora or Lea would have this problem if it had been them. Lea only won that one race because he's got those freakishly long spider legs."

"Seriously! How did this happen? _To us_!"

"I say we blame the scoring system."

"I say we do a recount under a different system. If we still come out on bottom then we know we deserved it."

Best get it over with and hope Rachel would be a bit more mature about…oh who were they kidding? She'd think it was hilarious. They'd only be able to continue their bet after she stopped laughing. And to their horror, when they found Rachel in one of the studies, she was accompanied by Kairi. Fantastic. They couldn't exactly ask Kairi to leave without her asking why they didn't want her to stick around. And refusing to tell her why would only ensure she wouldn't budge.

The girls were sitting together, Kairi putting a sparkly barrette or two in Rachel's hair and talking about a book they'd just read.

"Hi guys," They said pleasantly.

"I'm gonna throw up." Bryan said to Riku, going tense.

"We can do this." Riku replied although he didn't believe it. He too was trying to ease the growing lump in his throat. It wasn't working. Not like he really expected it to. Bryan would have to do the telling if Riku couldn't get the walnut unstuck from his throat.

"You guys ok?" Rachel asked.

Neither girl could completely hear what they were saying so they didn't understand why their friends had expressions like they were trying to pass a live hedgehog.

"Think it will be worse if they don't know the backstory?"

"This is weird either way so it can't hurt."

"You tell them."

" _You_ tell them."  
"We should have fought it out back at the arena for who would be the one to ask."

"We would have killed each other."

"Then we wouldn't have to go through with the bet then, would we?"

"Fair point."

"What are you two talking about?" Kairi asked.

"Um…you know the scores we'd been asking you to keep with Masters' new training?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah," Kairi said. "You never said what it was you were doing or why you needed us to help you with it."

"Every time we tried one of you would spontaneously change the subject."

"Well…" Riku swallowed hard. "The four of us, ah, placed a bet so we'd push ourselves our hardest for the battles of skill Master Yen Sid gave us."

"That doesn't surprise me." Rachel said.

"What exactly did you wager?" Kairi asked slowly, suspiciously.

Rachel got a glimmer in her eye too. It was becoming clearer they both suspected Bryan and Riku were before them now because they had somehow gotten the short end of the stick. Now they were just waiting like cats outside a likely hole for the mouse to present itself. Oh! Why did they _both_ have to be there? Bryan's stomach dropped like he had just taken the plunge down a very fast, very vertical roller coaster. This was embarrassing and it was just going to get worse.

Finally they came out and said it.

They say that a bad situation is like ripping off a band aid. Stings like the dickens for a few seconds but the worse passes quickly. Well this band aid was a bit more like a huge strip of duct tape and the sting was a vindictive little insert-word-of-choice and lingered for what felt like a lifetime. For a few agonizing seconds both girls just stared blankly at them, not completely sure what to think of this news or whether to take it seriously. Then, after another pause that felt like it took several hours, their expressions slowly began to change when the expected "Gotcha! Just kidding!" never came. Then of course they both started laughing.

Then the door burst open and Sora and Lea crashed through. Both of them looked very winded as if they'd been running.

"Oh darn it!"

"We missed it!"

"Was it as awful and wonderfully awkward as we pictured?"

They got their answer through the girl's laughter.

"Soooo," Lea said slyly but also in his most charming and gentlemanly voice to Rachel. He even topped it off with a bow. "Might you assist us in this endeavor?"

"I hate the way he talks." Bryan said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, it would be my _honor_." Rachel answered, her voice shaking with laughter.

"I might have to break up with her." Riku muttered, disgusted with her response.

"We're helping!" Kairi declared.

"No you're not!" Riku said quickly.

"Stop me." Kairi challenged.

"So how're you going to do it?" Sora asked Rachel as though no one else had been speaking.

"I remember seeing a potion recipe that I think will do _exactly_ what you need. Shouldn't take more than two days to brew properly if I'm remembering it right."

"Excellent." Lea clapped his hands once at the good news. "Sora and I will use that time to plan where we'll go and what we'll do. But there's one very important thing that has to happen first." With almost inhuman speed Lea snapped out his arm and pulled Riku tightly to his side. "This one's going with me."

" _ **WHAT**_!?" Pure and unfettered horror shot through Riku like a bolt of lightning. "Oh no, no way!"

"Too bad you don't get a say. Rules state the winners pick their dates. And you're coming with me so shut up."

It was like every inch of his insides were pinched tightly in a vice. Riku had kinda been hoping Sora would speak up first. Lesser of two evils. Yes, it would be weird waaaaay beyond words, going on a 'date' as a girl with his lifelong best friend but at _least_ with Sora there was a better chance he'd be shown some mercy. Not with Lea.

This was going to suck.

* * *

 _I was so nervous about posting this. Part of me feels like i should apologize (Yes it's wierd! I know! But that's part of what makes it funny!) for this and the other half is saying 'shut up and let them squirm'. Thank you, MamaKiwi for your encouragement and suggestions (and unceremonious peals of laughter). These next few chapters are for you._


	32. Double Dare Prt 3

The two days it took for the potion to brew had been torture. Even with a few things happening in between, there was nothing to ease the growing anxiety. Every mealtime Lea and Sora had this nasty habit of lifting their glasses to each other and say something like "Hail to the victors" before the meal was over. Kairi did warn them not to push it too far otherwise they may not live to revel in their victory.

Master Yen Sid hadn't said much about their antics. He suspected the boys had found a way to challenge themselves but never asked or even appeared to care about what they'd done. Which was just as well for them. Bryan especially regarded the old wizard as much as a grandfather figure as a mentor and was really glad he didn't have to explain the conditions of their bet.

Lea and Sora had agreed the 'date' would take place on one of the neighboring islands of where Sora, Riku and Kairi grew up. That way no one who knew Sora was dating Kairi would wonder why he was spending a 'romantic' afternoon with someone else. There was a really neat pier with lots of food stands, little shops, a few simple rides and a place where a lot of performers and artists drew caricatures for people, sang for tips and performed street magic and the like. The three islanders had only been to that location once a long time ago but they'd heard only good things about it from those they knew who had gone.

At the moment though, Bryan and Riku uncomfortably watched Rachel pour out the potion. On the table was a small cauldron that made fizzing noises like soda poured out too fast. But when poured into glasses it looked no more interesting than watered down punch. Next to the big glasses were smaller vials with different color liquids inside. They just looked like water with food coloring in it. Rachel was using an eyedropper to put different amounts of the colored stuff in each one. But when dropped in the main potion the liquid turned clear.

"So that's it?" Sora asked, indicating the clear stuff in the glasses. You would've thought it was his birthday and he was getting everything he ever dreamed of with that stupid grin.

"You don't need to look so interested," Bryan growled.

"Yep. The base potion simply turns you into a complete genderbent version of yourself. According to the book, apart from being female, not a lot else changes. Height, basic build, hair length, similar facial structure stay pretty close."

"So you kinda become what your sister might look like, if you had one."

"If you like, yes."

"So then, what's the colored stuff supposed to do?" Lea inquired. He too was playing up his interest way too much to be acceptable.

"Different attributes."

"Oh? Like?"

"It changes things like height, hair length…measurements."

Lea made a very violent snorting noise as his surprised chortle got caught in his throat. For him, this just kept getting better. Bryan looked very green as he watched five drops of something were put into the main potion and didn't want to think what that color was responsible for.

"So only you know what's in this?" Kairi asked slyly, leaning over the potion.

"Yep. But," She shuffled the two glasses several times. Now there was no way of knowing what went in what glass.

"How long is this going to last?" Riku asked in a can-we-just-hurry-and-get-this-over-with voice.

"It's permanent-."

Riku paled.

"-until you take the counter potion. It's brewing now. Should be ready by the time date's over."

"So how does this work once they've drunk it?" Lea asked, a little too curiously. "Is it like, poof! and they've changed or what?"

"Best I can understand from what I've read, it's not immediate-."

"This better not be slow!" Bryan warned. It was getting irritating that they were all talking as though he and Riku were invisible.

"Imagine watching a time lapse of a flower growing over a short span of time." She continued.

"That's horrible," Riku said a little weakly. He was disgusted by Lea's look of amusement.

"Don't look at me like that," Lea said to Riku, taking note of the I'm-imagining-you-dying-in-a-slow-and-painful-way glare he was getting. "Good looking guy like you? You'll be simply _radiant_ as a girl."

Riku wanted to kill him. If he had a slightly different temperament, he might have.

"Any chance you could add a sleeping potion to that? I really don't want to be conscious through…the changing." Bryan shivered, nearly gagging on the words.

"Me too!" Riku agreed quickly.

"Cowards."

" _And proud_."

"If you insist." Rachel sighed in a resigned sort of way. She took down a small glass bottle from a nearby shelf and put in a few drops of what looked like green mouthwash in with the other potion. "It's just a small amount for about a thirty minute power nap."

"Don't drink it too fast. You'll get the hiccups." Sora said with a stupid, mocking smile. He wasn't even trying not to snicker.

"Shut up, Sora." His false concern was sickening.

Bryan went out to a small room down the hallway. It was like a guest room with two thin beds that were more like cots. The Tower was filled with lots of pointless rooms Rachel and Bryan never fully figured out why they were needed. However this room had all they needed this time so why try to figure out something that works?

"Oh!" Rachel said, realizing something. She skipped into the room to a large dresser and fumbled for something. Finally she pulled out two plain shirts that looked a bit big for anybody there. "You'll want to change into these."

"Why?" Riku asked warily.

"Because after you wake up those tight muscle shirts you two wear will be a whole lot tighter."

"You shouldn't be enjoying this!" Bryan snapped at his sister, his stomach lurching when he realized what she meant.

"I never said anything! I'm just trying to help!"

"It's all over your face so stop it!"

"I'm not the one stupid enough to accept a wager that crazy!"

"Just give them the potion already!" Lea said.

Rachel handed over the glasses but no one else moved.

"Go away." Bryan said.

"You think we're going to miss this?" Lea said.

"And watch us change while we sleep?" Riku said rudely.

"Creep much?" Bryan added. "Don't worry, they're not watching." He said to Riku. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. A very short time after the clattering sound of cantering hoof steps echoed through the tile hallways. Seger the Fire Wolf ran around the corner and skidded to a stop before his master, bushy tail wagging happily. Per the norm, he ignored the presence of the others completely. "Okay, you're gonna make sure _none_ of these guys enter this room. Riku and I have to do something really weird together."

"Oh geesh-!" Riku made a choked *gulk* noise. "Of all the ways you had to word that!"

Bryan had a blank, confused look for a second then looked like he swallowed a gulp of sour milk as he realized what he said could have sounded like. "All right! All of you! Git!" He said quickly; not like changing the subject was going to make the others forget what he said or how it sounded.

They closed the door with a snap and heard Seger growl at the others to back up. Bryan and Riku sat on the cots facing each other; looking down at the potion as though it were poison and this was some kind of suicide pact. They took several long, deep breaths but it did little to steady the armies of tap dancing ants in their stomachs. Next time they did anything like this in the future, Lea would be banned from suggesting ideas.

"I don't think I can do this." Bryan said, staring at his glass. "And there's no way to fake drinking it."

"We can do this." Riku said with false confidence. "In a few hours this will all be over. After that, once we're free of the binds of the agreement we can do something horrible to Sora and Lea."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Bryan said, trying to find strength in the thought of revenge. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

They chinked their glasses together, trying to build confidence before downing the potion. It tasted like water that had been left in a plastic bottle after it had gotten warm. They looked at each other. How long did this stuff take to start working? But after about a minute they could feel the sleeping draught take effect. They gave each other one more 'We can do this' nod before slumping back onto the cots fast asleep.


	33. Double Dare Prt 4

It took Riku a second to realize he was looking at the ceiling after opening his eyes. He felt extremely relaxed and refreshed. The cot was hardly plush or the pillows puffy yet it felt very warm and cozy. Then he remembered the sleeping potion, the reason he felt so relaxed and refreshed. Then he remembered _why_ he took the sleeping potion and no longer felt so relaxed.

Riku was scared to move. Never in his life could he remember being so still. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a dark shape. He turned his head just enough to see it. It was a girl he'd never seen before. But before he could ask and confirm that it was Bryan, she said,

"You okay?"

Riku looked him, uh, her… _whatever_ over. Of course it was Bryan, who else could it be? And…wow, just…wow. His hair was now very long with a lot of volume attributing to the fact it was still naturally layered. And now without the mustache and goatee he looked a lot like his sister. Like almost twin-like. No, _clone_ -like. Freaky. The voice was what startled him. Now Riku was a little leery to what _he_ might sound like if he spoke so he only nodded.

They spent a minute looking each other over, both moving as little as possible. Riku wasn't sure how to interpret the way Bryan was looking at him. Was it just weird? Did he look ok? Did he look really bad? Finally he couldn't take it anymore. The morbid curiosity got the better of him.

"How bad is it?"

Immediately Riku's hand shot to his mouth. That was so weird speaking in a voice he didn't recognize. Then he noticed how slender his fingers were and how smooth the skin on the back of his hand was. Were girl wrists supposed to be that skinny? He'd never really noticed before on Rachel or Kairi.

Bryan looked him over again. "If this was how you really were? I'd date ya."

"Thanks?"

They shared a strained chuckle and that broke the tension some. Very carefully Riku sat up and swung his legs over the side of the cot. The masters had taken their shoes off before taking the potion; sure they wouldn't fit after the effects had taken their toll. How was it possible for feet could be so little and still support someone? Slowly, Riku stood up. Bryan watched him with the look of someone who was glad they didn't have to go first.

"So?"

"So far so good, I think...considering."

Riku was very leery about looking down at himself, largely because of what he knew would and wouldn't be there. He looked at both his hands. They looked so small. He touched the side of his face and ran his fingers through his now much longer hair. Both skin and hair felt oddly soft. On the other side of the room was a narrow but full-length mirror on the back of a closet door. He couldn't recall if it was there when they entered the room. Bryan had seen it too.

It was an odd feeling to have curiosity gnawing at you while at the same time have butterflies doing the Texas two-step in your stomach. It wasn't until he took his first step forward toward the mirror did he really feel the changes, primarily the presence or absence of certain things. Bryan raised an expectant eyebrow, waiting for Riku tell him what it was like. The first step was also awkward because the bottoms of his jeans were all bunched up under his feet. Had he gotten shorter so now his pants were too long? Of course Rachel would have done that (and he was going to get her for it). Bryan had finally gotten up too and they both looked themselves over properly.

"All things considered? As weird and wrong as this sounds…we actually pull this off really well."

"I cannot believe you just said that."

"I'm not saying that I want to _stay_ this way! But seriously, if you were single and saw _that_ ," Bryan made a gesture presenting their reflections in the mirror. "Eyeing you from across the street, you seriously wouldn't stop and get her name?"

"Of all the conversations I never imagined myself having…"

It was like looking in a funhouse mirror. No matter how long you looked at it, even though you knew what you were looking at, the image just didn't make sense. It didn't help that, even though they were still wearing their clothes, their bodies were so different. It was amazing that the elegant lines of the female neck, arms and torso could be so pleasing to the male eye and yet, from the other side of the fence, didn't seem at all practical. How did girls stand up or lift anything more than ten pounds with such slender limbs? And neither Rachel or Kairi were particularly muscular in really any way and yet they could hit really hard.

"This is ridiculous." Riku's hair was longer than before the Mark of Mastery. Only now it was…what was the word? Voluminous? It wasn't curly but certainly had a flowing wave.

"Tell me about it." Bryan agreed. He looked to have even more volume than Riku because his hair still retained its natural layering. "At least Rachel didn't make either of us…uh," How could he put this tastefully? "Top-heavy." He very likely would have disowned her if she had.

It was true. Neither of them had particularly outstanding, again, how do I say this delicately, uh…endowments. It was probably the only mercy they were going to be shown for the rest of the day. Because it brought up something they had been desperately avoiding thinking about up until that point. Part of the deal would be they'd have to dress the part of girls on a date. But dressing the part would first mean getting undressed. Getting undressed would mean…yeah, this was a sickeningly embarrassing problem. Would that be considered perverted? Yeah, their body _types_ were not their own but it was still technically _their_ bodies. They respected girls too much to _do_ anything, but the internal argument still went round and round in their minds. How do you go about the day as a girl without…um, noticing things about yourself? Never again would Lea be allowed to suggest anything for any reason.

"We know you guys are awake!" Came Sora's voice from outside the door.

"Seger can hear you stirring." Kairi said.

"I feel sick."

"Suck it up, it's just starting."

"C'mon, guys, well, _gals_ ,"

"Shut up Lea!"

"Oh ho ho! Which one of you was that? You even _sound_ hot!"

"He's not getting out of this alive." Riku promised.

"I feel for ya, man. I really do." Bryan assured.

" _You think_? That idiot's my date! How am I supposed to survive an entire afternoon with _that_!?"

"Like I said, I feel for ya,"

While Riku and Bryan were talking amongst themselves, outside the door Rachel and Kairi had shooed away Sora and Lea. They decided they'd treat this date like how the groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding. Sora and Lea would see what their 'dates' looked like after the (real) girls helped with the gussying up process.

"Holy crap! I have a twin!"

"Shut up!" Bryan growled at his sister.

Kairi was trying very hard not to smile as she looked Riku over.

"One word!" Riku dared her. "Just one word,"

"Ready?" Rachel giggled. "Omigosh! It's so fluffy!" She was floofing her brothers hair. Bryan repeatedly swatted her hand hard but it didn't stop her from trying. But she was trying very hard not to look at Riku, afraid she might break down giggling hysterically or making a comment that might make him break up with her on principle.

"No."

* * *

"Please tell us you've already made a plan for this next part so it can get over with quickly."

Rachel and Kairi brought the 'boys' to a room they'd already set up as the ultimate girls room. It was _their_ spot to get away from the testosterone ocean. It was decorated mostly with pastels, florals, vanity dressers, plushy sofas and cushions, crystal chandeliers and a big closet. The room was so feminine it was nauseating. Of course, the girls already having such an extensive game plan lined up was just as bad.

"Here! Hold this."

Rachel put a big plush hippo in Bryan's hands. It was pink with floral pattern.

"No." He tossed it over his shoulder.

"*Gasp!* Don't you abuse Winston!"

"Okay!" Kairi said. "Who's first?"

"He is." Bryan and Riku said together.

"The whole gender thing is going to get confusing."

"One each?" Rachel said to Kairi.

"Sure."

"So who's with who?"

"Kairi," The boys said in unison.

"Hey!" Rachel cried. "Why you no like me?"

"You're my sister,"

"You're my girlfriend *mutter*for now*mutter*,"

"Touché."

"You could get the outfits ready and I'll do hair." Kairi said to Rachel.

"Sounds like a plan,"

"Will you two stop talking like we're not here?"

Rachel scurried off to the closet. Kairi hopped up and down and clapped her hands. It was disgusting how gleeful they were. Yeah, girls like being all girly-girly once in a while but now was not the time to be so happy.

"C'monc'monc'mon!" Rachel tugged on Riku's wrist, leading him to the privacy divider on the other side of the room. "I've picked out the perfect outfit!"

"I'm sure you have," Riku said dryly.

Riku looked at her, disgusted when she happily held up a dark powder blue halter-top dress. It was about mid-calf length and the skirt was light and feathery. It was solid in color with only a cream colored ribbon around the waist tied in a bow. Riku desperately wanted to make a scathing comment but he bit his tongue.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," He muttered.

"I can't believe I get to see you closer to eye level!" Came Kairi's voice from the other side of the divider.

"You can stop talking now."

"You-you could always look at it as a learning experience." Rachel was trying so hard not to show her amusement. "Stop placing bets for anything more than compliments."

"When this is over, I'm not talking to either of you for a week."

Rachel made a pouty face but presented the dress all the same. "Okay, go on."

Riku looked at the dress like she was expecting him to put on a sweater woven of live snakes. "Is there another way we can do this?"

"You're the one who agreed to the bet."

"I mean…getting _that_ on."

"Believe me; putting on a dress is hardly rocket science. Just slip it over your head like you would a shirt."

"I mean is there a way you can magically get that on me," Riku felt a very vile taste on the back of his tongue when he said that. "Without me having to get _un_ dressed?"

Riku could see in her eyes when it clicked to her what he was saying. He didn't want to feel even the slightest bit naughty for seeing the female form in any state of undress…even if at the moment it was still technically _his_ body. Blech. That was such a bizarre thought.

"Okay, um…ah! I got it. Here." Rachel had him hold the dress folded over his arm. She dashed away then came back with a big white fuzzy blanket with bright disco flower print and draped it around him. "Okay, watch this."

Rachel swished her hand like she was swatting a fly. Riku felt like he was getting hit with a gust of wind even though there was no wind. When he pulled the blanket away, his clothes had switched.

"See? Easy."

"Sure. That's the word." So wrong! No guy should feel that much freedom around his legs. Riku stepped out from behind the divider. Kairi was there, waiting. She had her hands over her mouth with an 'Oooooh! So pretty!' glimmer in her eyes.

"Never look at me like that again." Riku pleaded.

"'Kay Bryan! Your turn!" Rachel waved him over.

"You suck."

"I have the most perfectest outfit for you!" She replied, letting the comment roll right off.

"Wait a minute!" Bryan said, looking horrified. "It's not pink, is it?"

"Oh! Oh! It wasn't but I think I've got-."

"NO! Whatever you've got will be fine! Unless…it's not covered in that lacy stuff, is it?"

"Honestly, Bryan, you don't wear excessive lace to a day at the beach." Kairi scolded in a duh-everybody-knows-that voice.

"If you couldn't guess for yourselves already there are some things I'm okay with being ignorant of."

Bryan's punishment was a butter yellow sundress with periwinkle flowers printed on the bottom with a matching, sparkly half-vest. But Rachel and Kairi didn't stop there.

Much to the horror of Bryan and Riku, they'd planned out everything head to toe. They'd be wearing Rachel and Kairi's matching woven sunhats, the ribbons had just been changed to match their outfits. The boys were disgusted by just how much thought their 'friends' had put into this. Everything had been laid out. Hair, lips, nails, jewelry, shoes and accessories. The high-wedge sandals Rachel had given Riku did get some words of protest (well, everything did but if I took the time to name them all you wouldn't finish reading this chapter until tomorrow).

"These things almost put me back to my normal height!"

"Well that's a little bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"

"How am I supposed to walk!"

"One foot in front of the other."

"Funny. Why can't I have something like his!"

Bryan's sandals were nothing more than a glorified flip-flop.

"It makes the most sense." Kairi explained. "Bryan and Sora are about the same height now so short shoes are the best option. Lea is a lot taller than you so you need something to equalize the distance."

"Kairi, I didn't think it was possible for you to be someone somebody could hate."

"It's the humility talking, ignore him."

There was a knock at the door.

"Hey! I know girls take forever getting ready for a date but are you done yet!" Came Lea's voice.

"Ready?"

"What do you think?"

Sora and Lea reacted just as well as one might imagine (and I'll leave you the pleasure of doing the imagining). And there was still one more bombshell.

Much to the horror (and after much furious protests) of Bryan and Riku, the girls announced they would be tagging along on the date. Not as a third-wheel or anything but they would be following the others and observing from a distance. Lea and Sora of course had no issue with Rachel and Kairi being present. They graciously encouraged them to, in fact. Bryan kept giving his sister promising glares to murder her in her sleep if she went through with it but they were ignored.

So Rachel and Kairi quickly got dressed in casual, sunny-day clothes, comfortable walking sandals and matching woven purses and the matching sunhats they pulled out of the endless closet because best friends like to go as twinsies. And (again to the horror of Bryan and Riku) they didn't forget to each bring a camera. They talked about all the fun they were going to have seeing the sights and having much-needed girl time. Their transparency was sickening.

So Bryan and Riku would be going as Brianna and Risa. The inevitable could no longer be delayed. The date finally got underway.


	34. Double Dare Prt 5

It was one of those days were you couldn't possibly ask for a better one. The bring island sun basked the world below in its gentle warmth. No artist in the world could have hoped to paint a more beautiful sky. The occasional island breeze was like a breath of new life. Crystalline waves hummed their eternal song with the seabirds chorusing from above. It was a day were you find yourself taking long, refreshing breaths for no other reason than to feel invigorated by the rightness of the world around you.

However, there do exist certain conditions that makes all that beauty play second-fiddle to…do I really even need to say it?

Rachel and Kairi were all giggles. A sickening quality when your own embarrassment was gnawing away at your insides like the teeth of a thousand rats. The group stood just outside the main drag. The wide cobblestone street was bustling with color and excited movement. Below was the beach and the pier. Buildings lined the street, facing the ocean. They were all quaint stores and cafes. Most of the shops stocked only local merchandise or quality items from nearby islands. Some people walked along the beach below, feeding crumbs to the seabirds or looking for shells. The music of the pier danced through the air.

"Ready?"

"Well that takes the cake of all dumb questions."

"You guys better get that hostility out before the date really starts. You do remember the last condition, don't you?"

"I hate you, Lea."

"See? Let it out. Feel better?"

The last condition of the dare was that everyone had to act like they were hopelessly, head-over-heels, puppy-dog in love (without being sickeningly obvious). They would have to put on their best acting faces, guts sucked in, heads held high and tough it out regardless of how bad it got. Of course now that they were actually faced with it, keeping to that condition…yeah, this was gonna be tough. So, while finding strength in imagining Sora and Lea hanging upside down over a boiling cauldron of something slightly acidic, the 'date' began.

Rachel and Kairi skipped ahead. It was awful how obvious it was that they were scouting for prime locations to watch the date progress.

"So, shall we get going?" Lea offered 'Risa' his arm.

Riku didn't really have a choice. "Play your cards right and I won't break it."

"Now, that's not a very ladylike thing to say."

So Lea was going to push it the whole time? Fantastic. What a more perfect way to spend a few hours than with gritted teeth?

Even though the dare was called a 'double-date', it was in title only. Both groups didn't actually need to stick together throughout the afternoon. Rachel and Kairi found this most inconvenient. The (real) girls were just a hop skip and a jump away from the others at any given point. After all, a camera zoom only goes so far before it doesn't take a good picture. Their picture taking was infuriating. They took frequent BFF selfies with key attractions as the background. Only the background always had one pair 'conveniently' photobombing the background. There were also plenty of covert pictures taken of the lovesick pairs. Rachel and Kairi were going above and beyond to make sure the event was well documented. An action that was guaranteeing the camera would either find itself misplaced (at the bottom of the ocean) or the eventual album mysteriously vanishing into a black hole.

Sora and Lea played the part of the perfect gentlemen really well. The whole nine yards. They held hands, walked on the proper side of the street, opened doors and let the 'girls' enter and exit first. When it came time for snacks or cutesy gifts or souvenirs, Sora and Lea paid. The café they ate at had outdoor seating, which they made sure to pull out the chairs for their dates and stood up whenever the 'girls' did. Sora and Lea must've looked up a book of classic date etiquette in the days the potion was brewing. They proved to be taking the whole 'playing the part' part of the deal very seriously.

And Riku had been right about Sora being the merciful one. There were times Sora had to look away to suppress snickering. The reality of the situation would overpower him at times and the only way to let it out tastefully was to laugh it off. Only he had to do it carefully so not to look like he was mocking his 'girlfriend'. And Sora was hardly the dashing white knight, suave Don Juan, romance novel Casanova by any means. His approach to love was innocent and genuine. And his approach to the date was no different.

Sora had put himself in a mindset to treat this date no differently than if he was on a date with Kairi. He'd obviously grown up enough to have subtly developed some acting skills (which was a tremendous surprise to everyone). Sometimes it felt awkward or strained but on the whole Sora pulled through very convincingly. If any of their stiff actions or odd conversations were witnessed or overheard, no one gave them any confused looks as to why anyone would say or do that. Of course, maybe the awkwardness was just because he knew slender-limbed Brianna was actually Keyblade Master Bryan and you don't ever hold your best friends hand. But there was also the part of Sora that was sort've enjoying not be on the receiving end of something so awkward (if you've read the Christmas Special then you'll understand).

Bryan was taking no pleasure in being treated so delicately and proper. The outfit was just as bad as the linking arms and holding hands. The sunhat was ridiculous. Why did a hat need to be that big? Even with his hair all gussied back there was still too much for the hat to fit over his head properly so it kept slipping. He tried letting it hang down his back but that didn't work either. The silk ribbon felt like a hangmans noose. And covered hair trapped the heat on his back. As much as he tried not to care (as he normally wouldn't) Bryan didn't want to deal with the girls complaining about sweat stains on their dress. And that was another point of complaint. He hated the dress. He hated the dress and its whole family. That much yellow was stupid. The sandals were stupid too. He _never_ wore sandals! And pebbles and sand got between the sole and his foot all the time. A pebble in a shoe? No biggie. Ouch. How did that get in there? Take off the shoe, shake it out and go about your merry way. Sand? Ignore the grinding between your toes until you get home and can wash it off. Even better! Take off your socks when you got home and let the grains wipe off in the carpet. Nope. Not here. And it didn't seem very girlish to take off a sandal (even though a flip flop barely has enough material to be counted as footwear) every few minutes to brush the sand off. They weren't even near the beach yet! Where was all this sand coming from! And the stupid purse! He _hated_ the purse. How did girls make carrying one look so easy? It wasn't easy. What kind of sorcery did the female species possess that kept a purse strap from slipping off one shoulder? What was he doing wrong that kept the strap slipping off his shoulder? And he didn't like wearing it across the shoulder either. Yeah, it didn't move but the way the strap crossed his (not so muscular anymore) chest made him uncomfortable.

On the whole, the worst part of the dare penalty (apart from Rachel and Kairi taking not-so-covert pictures) was the principal. He'd lost and everything about it sucked. The clothes were awful. The way he was expected to act was awful. He wasn't running completely blind, though. He'd seen the way Kairi and his sister were sometimes with Sora and Riku. As weird as it was, Bryan tried to mimic those happy glances, the brushing of hands and the *gluack* occasional girlish giggle. Disgusting.

Pride is a pill that could choke a whale and now he and Riku had to split it. And this had to be the hands-down worst way to do it. Bryan had been going through a list of things in his mind of other things he'd rather do in place of the date. Cutting his goatee. Dying his hair purple. Going to the Benbow Inn and standing on a table during rush hour singing ' _Wanted Dead or Alive'_ at the top of his voice.

Still, at least he wasn't Riku.

As expected, Lea was terrible. It was clear right from the start he was going to make sure this day went down in history. And Riku was going to make sure his body was never found. Lea was drawing on every bit of acting skill he had as well as his own way of knowing how to treat a lady. As the oldest, he did have a bigger pool of knowledge to draw from when it came to girls and dating. And the worst part? He never broke character! Even if his words were the opposite of the calm, love struck demeanor he displayed, they were never loud enough for a passerby to hear. It was infuriating! It was like wanting to be mad but you just couldn't get the other person to argue back.

Riku did everything he could to act the same. Regardless of the scathing comments he let slip to Lea concerning his opinion of the whole thing, Riku tried very hard to sweetly smile through the venomous words. And Lea appeared to be enjoying it! Under the restrictions of the agreement, there was little Riku could do about it. Lea wasn't doing anything that violated his side of the dare, he was just pushing it in a way that made him the object of desire for a punch in the face. In fact, Riku would look back and wonder if he could have made it through the dare at all if his imagination hadn't been switched into Extreme Violence mode. Normally imaginings of that nature he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy, but Lea was making it worth it.

Oh yes, what Lea was doing was completely and totally unforgiveable. Their friendship might be permanently damaged because of this dare. This and the stupid hand holding. And that dumb beaded purse that was now almost stuffed to bursting with the pointless gifts Lea kept offering to buy. And 'Risa' had to act like she was so excited to be spoiled. And not only was carrying a purse stupid, he had to carry it over one shoulder; which kept slipping. But the strap was actually a fine chain, so if he had it over one shoulder and off to his side, the fine hairs on the back of his neck kept getting caught in the chain.

"C'mon, let's keep going down to the end of the pier." Lea said.

"Can't we go down to the beach instead?"

"You grew up on a beach. I say we go to the pier. That is why we chose this place after all."

Riku really didn't want to (not like that was new news). He could only hope Lea would let him do what he wanted. But no. This time Lea was insistent on doing things his way. The beach would have been so much nicer. Not because of how a walk on the beach might look on a date, but his feet were starting to hurt! Those sandals were terrible. Going down to the beach would at least give him an excuse to take the sandals off and go barefoot in the sand. Girls must have flexible bones in their feet in order for them to wear any kind of angled shoe without being crippled with agony. He really didn't think he could physically handle it if those horrific shoes were angled a little steeper.

"So, what's it like being in a girls' body?" Lea asked covertly.

Riku squeezed Lea's hand as hard as he could without making it obvious he was trying to crush it.

"It's just curiosity."

"Perverse curiosity."

"I'm not asking for a detailed account of everything. Nice grip, by the way."

"Whatever."

"You're doing really good at looking cheerful through this trying time."

"Spare me, please."

"Just trying to diffuse the tension."

"My eye you are. Don't think I haven't noticed that-that _smirk_ this whole time!

"And don't you think I haven't noticed the shivers you've been trying to hide. Too bad you can't blame it on a cool ocean breeze."

"You're enjoying this way more than you should." Riku had said that off-and-on throughout the afternoon but he held that opinion that strongly.

"You're just jealous that I'm not the one in the dress. Which fits you very well, by the way."

Riku dug his fingernails into Lea's palm.

"Dang," Lea said quietly while trying not to wince. "Maybe that manicure was a bad idea."

"Maybe you saying things like that was the bad idea. Is it too much to ask for you t- _gyah_!"

Riku could feel his feet start to get a bit sweaty. Normally, as a guy with _proper_ footwear, sweaty feet and slightly damp socks was something he could easily ignore. Now, he could feel it in those sandals but hadn't given it much thought. Only, sweaty feet in sandals of most types tend to get a bit slippery. And Riku just discovered the danger of having sweaty feet in high-wedge sandals. Some of his irritation of Lea relieved itself through a brisk walk. Only that was a mistake as his heel slipped off the edge of the sandal. Oh! OW! That slip hurt! Ow, ow, ow! Why was that so debilitating! He'd been beaten, battered, possessed, struck by all kinds of magic and weapons…Lexeus flung him into a freakin' ceiling for crying out loud! Yet twisting his ankle because of a sandal was not only humiliating but, but… **OW**!

Lea caught Riku by his arm, holding him up. "Risa! Are you okay?"

"No!"

"What can I do to help?"

"Nothing! I just, I just need to sit down a second. There's a bench over there, I'll be fine."

"Here, let me."

"What are you doing? Wait a second! What are you doing!

Lea swooped up Riku with the elegance of a man carrying his bride across the threshold of their new home and set him down again on the aforementioned bench. Once done, Lea himself took a seat, lifted Riku's foot into his lap for elevation and took his sandals off. Riku was too stunned to do or say anything.

"Oh, look, she blushes."

Riku wondered how quickly he could learn Rachel's hamster spell to use on Lea then leave the rest in Tatania's capable paws. It only made matters worse when Riku took note that passerby's had seen the display. Judging by their looks they thought it was so gentlemanly sweet and adorable. Everybody who thought it was cute could go take a flying leap! Off a cliff! With rocks at the bottom! No, over a pool of water, with alligators!

"I could get us lemonade slushies from that guy over there while we wait for your ankle to feel better."

"This is a long pier, Lea, why don't you go take an even longer walk off the end of it." Riku muttered with a forced grateful smile.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. Maybe this will help instead."

Lea put his hand over Riku's ankle. Oh that was so weird! And, bleh! It didn't help Lea had those freaky spider-leg fingers. It was all he could do not to shudder violently because a man was holding his ankle. Suddenly he felt very cold. Lea was using a bit of magic to serve as a cold compress. The tiny ball of the frozen magic beneath his hand kept Riku's ankle from swelling after the slip.

"Thanks," Riku reluctantly mumbled. "But if you start massaging my foot I'll kick you in the face."

"Tempting, but I won't."

There was another, barely noticeable flicker of green light beneath Lea's hand and immediately Riku felt better. Healing magic. Darn it. Riku would've been fine with killing a bit of time just sitting there; enduring Lea's comments but otherwise not having to do anything embarrassing. Of course Lea wouldn't let that happen. He would make use of every minute. Lea was only going to ease up his tormenting actions if he could sense Riku was close to breaking character and clocking him on the nose because once you reach a certain limit self-control goes out the window. As much fun as it would be for Riku to have to take a penalty for breaking a key rule of the dare, Lea was enjoying this part too much to end the torture so easily. Besides, after this, what make-up penalty could top it?

After that was over, the stroll down the pier continued. At least neither of them got clammy hands during all the hand-holding. It was already awkward, no need to have it uncomfortable too. They paused by a few more singers, politely refused a quick couples painting and inspected the table of an older woman selling pendants made of carved shells.

But the end of the line was within reach. Just a short length further then he could trip over the finish line but it would be over. Like most afternoon dates, they typically averaged a few hours. And that was all the dare required. Riku and Lea stood at the end of the pier, looking across the vast expanse of ocean. Onlookers would only see a young couple romantically gazing at the sea. Riku was paying close attention to the minute color changes in the sky as afternoon inched its way to evening. Evening would end an afternoon date. The end of the date would mean Riku could finally elbow Lea right in the kidney.

Lea shuffled a bit and released Riku's shoulder from a tender one-armed embrace. Like Riku was going to complain about that. So close. Just stomach it for a little bit longer. But it wasn't about to be smooth sailing in the few moments before the clock ran out. Not even a little bit.

"Risa,"

Facing the ocean and out of the view of possible onlookers, Riku had no problem rolling his eyes in disgusted impatience. One last hoo-rah? Of course. What now? Why couldn't it just end here?

"I don't want to seem forward but,"

"Can't you just give it rest already?" Riku said quietly. His expression was calm and pleasant despite his words.

"There's something…something I wanted to say to you for a while."

"If you tell me you love me you're dead."

Worse. Much worse. They turned and faced each other. There was a glint in Lea's eyes. A tricksters glint. A sly glint. That kind of flicker someone gets when they know something you don't. Riku didn't like that. No way. Not at all. His brain turned into a log jam. What did that mean? What was he going to do? What kind of freak plan was hatching under that spiky head? But so many possibilities tried to surface at once he couldn't focus on any of them. It couldn't be the precursor to a kiss. That was one of the big no-no's from day one. So what then? It couldn't be very elaborate. There wasn't a lot of time left for that.

But before Riku could ask what was going on, Lea took something out of his pocket and lowered himself before him. Oh boy. No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Riku barely felt his eyes involuntarily widen with horror. Oh no. Lea wasn't about to-? Was he? Lea held up the thing he'd taken from his pocket. It was very small. And it sparkled. _Yes he freakin' was_!

 _This is sick! This is so wrong! Lea! You are_ _ **dead**_! Riku internally screamed.

Riku saw Lea's lips move but heard nothing. A loud _screeeee_ sound rang shrilly in his ears for some reason. Was it medically possible to pass out or even die from embarrassment? This was a whole new level of terror. He seemed to have temporarily forgotten that none of this was real. Every muscle in his torso constricted uncomfortably when it became clear was Lea was doing. Immediately Riku felt his hands get clammy and a sudden prickle of weakness in his legs. And not without reason (ignoring the foremost obvious reason). Out of the corner of his eye, Riku could see they had the attention of several people on the pier. Great. Spectators. His head was reeling. Too many thoughts to process at once. And it's hard to think logically when the skin over your entire body is burning with embarrassment. But he was still within the confines of the dare so Riku had no choice but to go along with it.

Riku tried to swallow but his throat had clamped shut. He took a deep breath, lowered his head so no one could see his face under the (stupid) sun hat and (while finding strength in the appeal of fully embracing the Darkness just for a second to turn Lea back into a Nobody) very obviously nodded.

The applause from the curious spectators sounded like firecrackers going off in his ears. Please let the pier collapse. Fire. Brimstone. Tsunamis. Anything! Anything to get rid of these people and make this whole thing come to an end! Lea stood up and took his hand but Riku couldn't feel it as it seemed that all blood flow had been cut off to everywhere but his head and legs to keep him upright and from going postal. What was it? A third? A fourth? The majority of the bones of the human body were in the hands? Perfect. That just meant a lot to break.

Lea pulled him in for a you've-made-me-the-happiest-man-in-the-world hug. It drained the last reserves of self-control Riku had to suppress the disgusted shiver that was desperately trying to roll down his spine. Thank goodness Riku was facing the ocean so he didn't have to put any effort into putting on a glowing girl smile over his otherwise revolted expression.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

Oh boy, he sure had a lot of gall to say that so casually. Riku could _hear_ Lea's smile and he was determined to break it.

"Oh, believe me, Lea," Riku's voice quivered with embarrassment and immeasurable fury. "After today, I'll see to it that you never sleep again."

"Easy there, Precious. At least wait until after the wedding."

* * *

" _HE SAID_ _ **WHAT**_ _!?"_

The second they were back in the small potion room where the counter-potion had been left to brew, Bryan ripped off the sunhat and kicked off the sandals like they had somehow personally insulted him and his whole family.

Riku reacted about the same way. He flung away the hat like it was some kind of deadly Frisbee. Once he managed to get the straps of the sandals undone, he chucked both of them at Lea's head. "That was the most disgusting innuendo I've ever heard!" Riku frequently made violent shudders.

"Now, now," Lea said calmly but with a devilishly mischievous smile. "We're engaged now; it's okay to have a little naughty banter."

If Riku had ripped the ring off any harder he might've broken his own finger. That too, he also flung at Lea's head.

"Hey! Hey! Be careful with that! It's not mine!"

"Easy there, you can't come back from murder." Bryan warned Riku.

"Do I really look like I care?"

"Why do girls look so cute when they're angry?" Lea just had to add.

"Why does Lea look so dead when he doesn't shut up?"

"Um," Sora looked at the little cauldron of counter-potion and the instruction book that had been left next to it. "This doesn't look like the picture. Isn't it supposed to be-?"

" _There had_ _ **better**_ _be nothing wrong with it!"_

Sora had no sense of control at all and broke down laughing. The panic Bryan and Riku felt thinking they'd be stuck like this for any longer than they had to immediately turned into vengeful rage.

"Not funny!"

"If one of the girls had done that I'd be angry but at least I wouldn't disembowel _them_." Bryan fumed.

"Hey, hey! No need for all the hate. It was just a joke!"

"Oh, I'm not saying I hate you, Sora. I'm saying that if you were on fire and I had water, I'd drink it."

"Okay, guys-." Kairi began.

"And we use that term loosely." Rachel added.

"Shut up!" Riku and Bryan snapped together.

The girls had been sitting back, content with watching as their friends. It had been fantastic to watch the date progress. And they'd gotten _plenty_ of pictures. Only they wouldn't be able to do much with the later-made album. After all, who could they blackmail with it? Mutual friends who knew little to nothing about magic wouldn't get the joke at all. But the after-party was getting a little out of hand so they had to step in. Of course, once back to their proper bodies, Bryan and Riku would have the upper body strength they were used to and might be indiscriminate about throwing it around.

Rachel poured out the counter-potion into little glasses and also put the same sleeping drops in them like before. Said glasses were violently snatched from her and Bryan and Riku stormed out of the room to find the nearest side-room. Bryan whistled sharply. Following the whistle was the _clack clack_ cantering of Seger's cloven feet. The poor wolf was very confused when he saw Bryan. He smelled like his master but looked nothing like him. It thankfully didn't take long to win the wolf over and once again the fire canine stood guard by the door.

Once inside, the room was much like the one they used before. Two small beds were placed side by side. Their usual clothes were folded up neatly at the ends of the beds. There was even a privacy divider between the beds. Bryan made a very strange grateful noise and dove behind the divider.

"I HATE this thing!"

There was a very aggressive shuffling of material. The atrocious yellow dress flipped over the top of the divider.

"Um, you sure you want to-?"

"At this point, do you think either of us should care?"

Maybe Bryan had a point. Riku did have Lea's proposal still burning in his brain like a branding iron to numb out all awkwardness and concerns about seeing anything he shouldn't so he did the same.

"See you on the flip side!"

"Cheers."

* * *

Lea and Sora had wisely made themselves very scarce in the time the sleeping potion wore off. In fact, no one saw either of them until just ahead of lunch the next day.

Bryan and Riku had a very therapeutic morning. They lingered at breakfast, discussing the best way to exact their revenge. Yeah, they lost the dare, but all the extras they had to put up with were completely unnecessary. Sora's punishment could be mild. It would definitely happen, but would be hardly a slap on the wrist compared to Lea. Bryan couldn't deny that, under different circumstances, Lea's proposal stunt was brilliant. However, the two Masters were in the same boat and would have each other's backs until proper justice had been served.

With his mind blissfully swimming in the sea of revenge, Riku searched the Tower hallways for Rachel. Yeah, she enjoyed the dare more than she should have but he could forgive her more easily than Lea. However, today would be the exception.

Riku found her in the Tower library taking down a few books to take back to the sorcery training castle. He was about to approach her from across the room but, lo and behold, Lea got there first. Riku felt a twist in his gut when he saw Lea come up to Rachel. The sight of him lately filled him with the lowest form of aggression and disgust. Still, his current disdain for Lea had nothing to do with him wanting to see his girlfriend. Although some of that disdain carried over after what happened next. Rachel came down from the ladder and put her books on a table.

Lea came up to her and tossed her something shiny like he was flipping a coin. "Thanks for letting me use that."

"Sure thing."

" _Excuse me!?_ "

Neither Rachel or Lea had even realized Riku was there until he spoke. They each had the terrified look of a kid with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Is that-?" Riku pointed to the shiny thing Rachel was holding.

"Um,"

"That ring was _yours_?"

"It was his idea!"

"That you _knew about_!"

"Okay, I admit it! I knew. I totally betrayed you. Lea asked if I had a gold ring he could borrow and-."

"' _And'_ nothing!"

"Easy there," Lea tried to cut in. Not like his words were actually going to mean much at this point. Especially coming from him.

Riku continued toward them with a menacing posture. Rachel and Lea kept backing up and away. Lea looked torn between helping to keep Rachel shielded or use her as a shield in case the beast finally broke free of its cage.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell him about the other thing."

"Lea!"

"What ' _other thing'_!"

"You just had to say something!" Rachel snapped at Lea.

"You tell him."

" _You_ tell him. You brought it up."

"Are you kidding? It'd be like throwing water on a gremlin."

Riku didn't find out until much later what exactly the 'other thing' was. His wrath over the whole thing left for a very strange side-effect. Rachel and Lea had been scared off when black wisps of flame-like Darkness started dancing around him like Lea when his emotions got the better of him causing the heat ripple. It was the first time either of them had seen Riku with such a murderous fire in his eyes. Especially when it was directed at them. Turns out, Lea had in fact told Rachel beforehand what he was going to do. Not only did he need a ring to pull off the stunt with, but he had asked Rachel to drop a bug in the ear of people on the pier what was about to happen to guarantee there would be an audience.

An action that would take a long while to forgive.


	35. Huuummmmm

Every time Riku visited Rachel at the training castle of sorcery, he was reminded just how badly this place needed a locator spell. He felt he lost a lot of time just trying to find her. He never once found her in the first play he looked. But this time it was easy. This time, she found him.

"Riku!Riku!Riku!Riku!"

He heard a small, squeaky and very excited voice cried.

"Look at me! Look at me!"

Something small and colorful suddenly appeared and buzzed in front of him.

"Riku! Riku! Look what I can do!"

Riku jerked his head back, startled at the sudden appearance of the little thing in front of his face.

"Rachel?"

"Teehee! Look at me! See what I can do!"

Rachel was now very small and buzzing in front of him. She'd turned herself into some kind of miniature harpy. Upon closer inspection, she was a little hummingbird.

"Mind lending a perch?"

"What? Oh, yeah."

Riku held out his hand and she landed on his fingertips, panting a little but in an excited way.

She was only about four inches tall and weighed almost nothing. Her features looked a little odd as her shoulders were now very sloped. Of course they had to be as her arms were now wings. Below the knee, her legs had become skinny bird feet. Feathers covered her entire body instead of clothes. The only places without feathers were her face, neck and just a little above her collarbone. Very tiny, fine feathers started at her forehead then blended into her long hair.

"What do you think?" She twisted and turned, fanning her tail and showing off her shimmery purple feathers and dainty little wings.

"Very nice."

Rachel buzzed her wings, lifting herself up a few inches before landing on his thumb again.

"Gotta say though, this gets really tiring. Hey," She buzzed around again. "Wanna hear a bad hummingbird joke?"

"Sure."

"Why do hummingbirds hum?"

"Why?"

"Because they can't remember the words."

"…That's really bad."

"I know."

"So what brought this on?"

"Can I help it if family reunions bring out the uncles that think they're funny?"

"I meant this new magic."

"Oh yeah. You know how I like transfiguration magic. I just took a different approach."

"You can change back right?"

"Of course! Doubteth me not! Want to try it?"

Riku sighed. "Why can't I say no to you?"

Rachel clapped her feathertips together happily. "Because I'm _adorable_?" Then she flew around him in circles a few times, casting the spell.

Riku closed his eyes as he felt the spell begin to work. He wasn't sure how he felt about this but he just couldn't say no to her when she looked so excited.

Of course he had quite the surprise when he was suddenly in mid-air and a few inches tall.

"Fly! Fly!"

"What? Ah!"

"Buzz! Flap or you'll fall!"

So he tried. More out of instinct than anything. The buzzing sound of his own wings sounded strange. How do hummingbirds not give themselves headaches from that constant dull buzz in their ears?

"Weehee! Isn't this cool!"

"I guess?"

Riku tried looking himself over, but when he did he stopped flapping and dropped a few inches. Rachel thought that was funny.

"Want to land?"

"Probably a good idea. One question: How do you steer?"

Rachel giggled but helped him out. They perched on the back of a chair. Riku held out his arms…or wings. As usual the feathers were a light powder blue. He didn't want to comment on how odd he thought his shoulders (or the lack of) looked. Feathers covered his whole body except across his chest and back (Rachel didn't mind that aspect at all). The bird legs were weird too. Like, _really_ weird.

"Wow…your _hair_!"

"What?" He wasn't really a vain person but anyone with any shred of respect for their personal appearance cares about the way their hair looks.

"It's all slicked back, going with the grain of the feathers on your forehead."

There was a slight purr in her voice so it couldn't have looked that bad. Of all times not to have a mirror.

"Want to go freak out the others?"

"By flying in their faces or turning them into bird people?"

"Yes."

Riku laughed a little and tried shuffling along to edge of the chair in preparation to take off. Only when he did, he stumbled and fell flat on his stomach. It wasn't like he could catch himself without hands. Of course Rachel was giggling. Even though nothing M rated could be seen under the feathers Riku still made sure to fan his tail feathers to cover himself all the same.

"You didn't know hummers can't walk? They're strictly perching birds."

"That's stupid." Childish to say, yes but when you're flat on your face and feeling like an idiot, do you ever really care?

* * *

"Maybe this wasn't my best idea."

Never before had Riku realized how underestimated the struggle a hummingbird experienced daily just to continue its existence. A hummer is always resting and always refueling and not looking for conflict unless it has no other option. And as they were both part hummingbird, a lot of the same rules applied. So flying straight from the training castle to the Tower without stopping to rest or eat, they had hit the breaking point of exhaustion. The hummingbird metabolism is very fast after all.

They stopped at the first flat surface they could find and without any care of decorum, collapsed. Rachel lay on her back, arms/wings spread out to her sides. Riku splayed himself on his stomach, reveling in the cool surface of the polished stone tabletop. They'd come to rest on a side table in one of the hallways where a vase was full of never-wilting wild roses. Riku didn't have the energy to reply. Everything felt weak and trembling. He didn't expect Rachel to have the energy to reverse the spell either. Not like they'd miraculously get their energy back once they were human again. If someone were to come by then that would be the easiest way to get help. Of course that would all depend on who found them. Riku wasn't sure he would be able to stand it if Sora found him as an iridescent hummingbird hybrid.

Thankfully, someone did in fact come by a short time later. And to their great relief, it was Master Yen Sid.

"Master! Down here!" Rachel sat up (with difficulty) and called the best she could.

The sorcerer at first wasn't sure what he heard or where it came from. But he looked right at them when Rachel called out again. He raised an eyebrow when he saw them but was more interested than surprised. Knowing Rachel was an avid magic user, transfiguration was a favorite of hers and Riku often got roped into her spells, seeing them tiny and part bird was almost expected.

"You appear to be having a bit of trouble." He stated simply.

"And hungry."

"Any chance you can get us to the kitchen or something?"

Yen Sid chuckled. After a wave of his hand Rachel and Riku found themselves on the wooden surface of the kitchen table.

"Oh bless that man."

On the table just a few inches away was a very large pastry-looking thing. Well, maybe not large considering everything looks enormous when you're only a few inches tall. It was like a jumbo muffin, only completely covered in frosting. For all they knew it was nothing _but_ frosting. It sat in more of a bowl than a plate so they could perch on the edge and still eat. It took a little bit to get themselves up but the heavenly scent of sugar was a great motivator. Neither of them bothered with decorum either. Since they had no hands it was impossible to use utensils. So they were just like kids faced with a giant lollypop and licked at the frosting.

"I'm feeling better already." Riku said.

"Mmhn-hnmn." Rachel answered the best she could with her mouth full. "Oh! Darn it!" While trying to eat, she got a bit of frosting smudged on her nose and cheek. "Great. How am I supposed to get this off? Don't look at me! This must look silly."

"I know how to fix that." Riku said.

Riku buzzed very close to her side. Before Rachel could even ask what he meant, Riku leaned in close and kissed the frosting off her nose. When he pulled away, Riku smirked at what he saw. Rachel looked surprised by what he had done. But it had made her blush a little. He liked that he could do that. And that shade of pink was the loveliest color he'd ever seen. So Riku leaned in again and kissed the remaining frosting off her cheek. Rachel wasn't looking at him when he pulled back for the second time. Her blush had gotten a bit brighter as well as a little sheepish smile. Riku had never seen her shy before. And it was adorable.

"Was that too much?"

"Well, no. I just-I wasn't expecting. I'm not saying that it wasn't-."

Riku halted the stutters with another kiss. "You're welcome."

Rachel didn't say anything but returned the warm gesture with an affectionate nuzzle. You can't exactly hug when you don't have arms. Riku did the same so they were snuggling their foreheads back and forth like a pair of lovebirds.

"That has got to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen."

Rachel and Riku jolted, every feather standing on end from being startled by the new voice. Lea was sitting at the table. He was far enough away to have evaded their attention until he spoke. There was a mug of something steaming in front of him. He laughed when their feathers got all fluffed up.

"How long have you been there!" Riku demanded.

"I've _been_ here. You two were the ones who popped in on me. And might I just say, you two are just _adorable_ together."

Like a little feathered missile, Riku zoomed over and buzzed angrily in Lea's face. "You say one word about what you just saw to anyone and I'll-!"

"Seriously? You're making threats? Riku, you ought to know that I respect you but you are not at your most intimidating right now."

Riku scowled but backed off.

"Rachel, _zap him_!"

"I'm actually ok with staying out of it."

"Not a word to anyone!" Riku warned, turning back to Lea.

"About what?" Lea asked innocently. "You two shrinking yourselves into fluffy shiny birds? That Rachel's cute when she blushes? Or that you're a bigger romantic than any of us realized?"

"We are not _fluffy_!"

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself." Lea stood up and left the table, taking his mug with him. "I'd love to stay but three's a crowd. You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves while I think of ways I can hold this over your heads later. _Bye_."

Riku made sure to make several noisy lunges at Lea's head as he left to express his irritation. He really wished he was a real hummingbird so he could pierce Lea's ear with his beak for that infuriating cutesy wave just before Lea closed the door. Riku perched on the back of a chair, every feather fluffed up in sync with his irritation.

"I _really_ hate him sometimes!"

"Don't worry," Rachel buzzed up on the chair with him. "If he does try anything funny, I will zap him. The joke probably won't be as funny when he's four inches tall. And you'll be more used to the wings and feet than he will so you'll have the upper hand. Well, wing."

Riku huffed a bit more. Then Rachel giggled.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…you're usually so level-headed about just about everything. Seeing you in a huff without being on the verge of apocalyptic mayhem is kinda cute."

"Please don't ever use that word to describe me again. For _anything_."

"Okay, I won't," She snuggled in close. " _Aloud_."


	36. On the farm

"OW!"

"Nobody move! Nobody breathe!"

"Ouch!"

"Sorry!"

"You just jabbed your elbow in my eye!"

"I haven't moved!"

"That might've been me, sorry!"

"Whomevers' hand that is better not so much as micro-twitch or I'll snap it off."

" _Ah-haoul_! Oh! Ow! What the heck was that for!"

"You! _You_! I-I-can't even-you, you _vile_ -!"

"Don't flatter yourself! That's my belt pouch!"

Shortly after the latest quest began, the group was forced to run for their lives. The only hope of escape was through a door they found. Lea ripped the door open and everyone trampled through, Lea taking up the rear. Only the door led to nowhere. The space behind it was only about the size of a closet. And all six of them were squished inside. Then door slammed shut once Lea was through. And there were no lights.

"Lea!" Sora said. "Can you turn around and get the door open?"

"And risk getting impaled again? Your girlfriend's got elbows like a harpoon. In fact, I think you owe me an apology. Nearly gave me an appendectomy."

"Sorry." Kairi said.

"So who's got eyes on the door? And are there any other exits?"

"Nobody's got eyes on any exit! All I can see is black!"

"Okay, so we can't see, can barely move and don't know how stuck we are."

"I'm feeling a shoulder, an elbow and a kneecap, all somebody else's' and all in places that make no sense and I can't move. I consider myself very stuck."

"Wait a second, Rachel," Bryan spoke to his sister.

"Yeah?" There was a second of silence before, "Oh! Right!"

Immediately after there was a big POOF and right away there was a lot more space.

"That was a great idea." Came Rachel's voice.

"I have them once in a while." Bryan's voice replied.

"What just happened?" Sora asked. "Where'd you guys go? Gyah!" Something touched him.

"We're owls!"

"Both of you?"

"Yeah."

"How did you-? It's dark! And Bryan didn't give a clue at all so how did you both come to the same conclusion!?"

"Siblings are like that."

"Stop twisting your brain in a knot about their freaky psychic connection. Can your owl-eyes see anything?"

"Yeah," Came Bryan's voice. "Sora, half-twist to your right. There's another knob right in front of you."

So Sora carefully felt around until he found the knob Bryan had told him about. The door opened. They were all eager to get out. The door came out in what looked like a tool shed. It was small but at least they could file out through to the outside. Beyond that was a huge expanse of land. It was a livestock farm but the size of a ranch. There were all sorts of buildings and barns. There were no other people but each barn was occupied with animals. Each barn faced a different direction with a large grazing field where some of the animals were grazing. One had horses, another had cows, and a third had a few sheep and goats and the smallest had chickens. A llama was among the sheep and goats and there were a few barn cats scattered around.

"Cool," Sora said. Rachel and Bryan were still perched on his shoulder. They were both tiny screech owls and were freaking out the others by twisting their heads around in sync.

"Archimedes was so proud when we learned to do this." Bryan said.

"So what are we supposed to be doing here?" Riku asked, looking around.

Rachel and Bryan changed back. The group continued down the slope from the shed. What could they be doing on a farm? Milk a dozen cows in six minutes? Would the sheep escape and they'd have to be herded with specific restrictions as to _how_? It was a really neat place. None of them were very farm savvy (except Rachel but she just loved animals in general (of course that didn't mean she knew how to milk a cow)) so they were all in agreement whatever they were supposed to be doing would be interesting to say the least.

"Hey guys!" Kairi said, "I think I found it."

Next to the farmhouse was a pretty silver bell on post. The pull-rope was wrapped around a painted mailbox. Inside the mailbox were two ladles for getting a quick drink from the well pump next to it. Tied to the bell post was a sparkling blue scroll. Around both the post and well pump was a wide circle of white rocks.

"Aha! Instructions!"

So, as a group, they made their way to the bell. Only there was a surprise in store. As soon as the last one crossed the ring of rocks they found out what it was.

The sound made when the magic occurred was hard to describe. It happened so suddenly, it took a second before anyone really registered that anything had happened at all.

" _WHAT THE HECK!?"_

The spell had transformed them into the child versions of themselves. Everyone was about six or seven. But it was only their bodies; their minds were still mature (although for some of the cast 'mature' was understandably up for debate). It was common knowledge there was quite an age gap between Lea and the rest of his friends (although the majority of the time you wouldn't think that considering how he acted as hinted above). Yet that wasn't present in this spell. Regardless of their actual ages, everyone was the same age here. Lea's hair was layered a lot like Bryan's. It hadn't gotten long enough to lay back yet and that's what made looking at him a little weird.

"What did that old man do!?" Lea demanded.

"And what about _him_!?" Sora cried.

Bryan was the only one who hadn't been changed into a child. He stood very still; frozen with shock. He then looked himself over, nope, the magic really hadn't affected him at all. Although his body language said he expected to start reverting or something any second. But he didn't. He really was the only one the spell hadn't touched.

"Why doesn't _he_ have to be his pint-sized self?" Kairi asked.

"I have extreme protests about this." Riku said dully.

" _Aww_ ," Rachel said. Her hair was in a short braid and she was wearing a cream colored sundress with yellow and flowered trim. She was wringing the edge of her dress in her fingers and looking starry-eyed at Riku. "Riku-u-u, you're so cute!" She cooed.

Riku looked petrified. He dreaded the embarrassment of her ever finding photos of him as a kid. Now this was much worse. It made it a little easier to bear considering she was adorable as all get-out at six years old. He already knew what Sora and Kairi looked like at that age so he didn't give that much thought. Lea, on the other hand, was a bit more interesting.

But then she had do add,

"Dang," Rachel said after looking Riku over carefully. "Puberty obviously hit you like a bus."

Lea spurted out a snort-like laugh that sounded like he had just choked on his own tonsils. He was the only one not trying to act like he found that funny. Lea gasped and wheezed and took a minute before he could breathe again. Riku knew there was nothing he could do to redirect attentions from what had been said.

" _Why_ are we like this!" Riku asked, frustrated and trying to change the subject.

Bryan untied the scroll from the post. It stopped glowing and he read,

"' _The objective for the remainder of this quest will be to locate a golden music box hidden somewhere on the property. Once found, it must be brought back within the ring of white rocks to end the quest. Everyone must be within the circle as well. There is no time limit. However, additional challenges will arise after the first ninety minutes. Good luck_.'"

Right as he opened the scroll a little "01" appeared in the corner of the page and started counting up; keeping track of their time.

"What does he mean by 'additional challenges'?" Kairi asked nervously.

"That's all it says."

"Any specifications about that music box?" Riku asked, trying not to look at Rachel too long at a time. He didn't want to be caught staring.

"Good point," Rachel agreed. "A music box can be small enough to fit in a pocket or be inside a jewelry box, to name a few."

"Really, that's all there is."

"And all we have to go on is that it's gold and somewhere on this farm?" Sora confirmed.

"So it could be in a haystack or buried in chicken feed?" Lea asked.

"I'm not holding anything back! That's all it says! And no, there's nothing else about why all of you are kids and I'm not!"

"Guys! Ninety minutes before things get mysteriously more challenging!" Kairi reminded.

"Maybe we should split up and investigate?" Lea suggested.

"What did it do?" Rachel asked.

"What did what do?"

"The gate."

"Gate? What gate?"

"You suggested we split up to arrest the gate. I just want to make sure I know the charges are fair before we take it in."

Child-Lea growled and rolled his eyes dangerously high. "In-vest-ih-gate! Not arrest-the-gate!"

"Tee hee."

They decided not to split up just yet but they had to work fast. The first bit of frustration while searching was now that most of the group were fun-sized they had a hard time reaching places. The first stage of the plan was to search every building, top to bottom with a fine-toothed comb. The farmhouse was first. Thankfully it wasn't one of those enormous two-stories plus attic and underground pantry kind of house. Every cupboard, corner, closet and chest was thoroughly searched. Walls were tapped for hollow spaces. Kairi even beat up a few pillows in case the box was inside one. Sora, Riku and Lea did their own kind of trinity ladder inside the chimney in case there was a ledge within it might be balancing on. While they were doing that, Bryan was tapping the fireplace bricks for loose stones.

No one could imagine what they hadn't tried so they moved on to the next building, picking through every bush and around every sizeable rock as they went. Bryan had the scroll folded in his pocket so the timer was easy to get to. After the first hour came and went, the search became a lot more frantic, but they still had to search between every blade of grass in case they missed it in their haste.

The silo was empty. That was a huge relief. It would have been a lose-lose if it had any grain in it. It would have taken forever to check it out for the music box. And if it wasn't there then that would have been a lot of wasted time.

"How much time do we have?" Sora asked Bryan.

"Just a few minutes."

"Great." Lea said dryly.

Rachel suddenly gasped sharply.

"What?" Riku asked.

"I just had a terrible thought! What if the 'additional challenge' was the music box changes location?! What if it's sitting on a chicken nest like an egg then after ninety minutes moves to the bedroom shelf in the farmhouse?"

"Well thanks for that. That's exactly what we didn't need to hear."

"Guys," Bryan said. The timer only had seconds left before an hour and thirty minutes.

They all held their breath as the timer hit the ninety minute mark. But nothing seemed to happen? No obvious pulses of new magic, no stampeding cows, no nothing. Maybe it was a subtle change? Maybe there was nothing at all and this was just a psychological trick. There was still an objective to complete so they had to keep going. Of course the vigilance of the group was at its highest.

The next step was to spread out across the sheep and field while Bryan searched the barn. He had to shoo the sheep and goats out first. Only he didn't know the sheep and goats were under the protection of two guard llamas. And llamas didn't like new things in their space. So while Bryan cleared the barn, the others couldn't complete their sweep because the llamas wanted to know what they were and why they were there. And the sheep picked up on the territorial atmosphere and started butting people.

"I'm sick of this!" Lea shouted, evading his third goat. "I hate goats! I'm outta here!"

"Okay, okay," Bryan said. "Just go look for the box somewhere else."

"This is lame, I'm leaving." And he did.

"Hey, keep an eye out for the box!"

"Make me!"

Bryan couldn't have looked so surprised if a stranger had come out of the blue and slapped him across the face with a rubber chicken. " _What_ did you say?"

But Lea had already hopped the fence and was going back to the barns. Bryan couldn't believe it. Walk out frustrated in the middle of a quest? That was so unlike Lea. Not only that, what was up with that childlike response?

Bryan's stomach plummeted. A childlike response. That was exactly the kind of challenging, cocky answer a kid would say when they didn't want to do something. That had to be what the 'additional challenge' was. His mentality was syncing up with that of his seven-year-old body. Oooooh boy. But that meant…

Bryan whipped around to see what was happening to the others. Rachel was petting a sheep. No surprise there. Riku was trying to keep a step ahead of one of the llamas. Sora was chasing off a goat that had been bothering Kairi. Overall, there was a distinct lack of focus among them. This was bad, this was very bad. Searching an entire farm for an item of unknown dimensions with a bunch of children? Oh yeah, they were going to be a big help.

"Kay, guys!" Bryan announced. "We're going to look somewhere else now." He was met with almost no objections. Kairi wanted to get away from the goat. Sora was tired of chasing it away. Riku had been trying to make himself look less interesting to the llama. Rachel was the only one who wanted to keep petting the sheep. "Okay, let's go." Bryan scooped her up under one arm. That was the only way he knew to get her going around a cute animal.

"Put me down!"

"Nope, we still got to find the box."

Oh boy was he right. Seven-year-olds aren't exactly world-renown for their attention spans. They could still be helpful, but Bryan found himself having to remind them to keep searching since there was a lot on a farm for a kid to get distracted by. Would he be able to go faster if they were somewhere keeping occupied? Did they all have to be looking for the box in order to complete the quest? He hoped not. He had no idea where Lea ended up or what he was doing.

The veggie garden was an easy search. Bryan had to tell the kids they were on a treasure hunt to keep them motivated. But that carrot was only juicy for a while. After looking hard for quite a while and finding nothing, they were beginning to lose interest. They didn't want to look anymore. They wanted to do something fun. Bryan did all he could think of to have them stay focused and stick together; all the while keeping himself level-headed. He usually wasn't the type to panic or get overly worried about anything but this was beginning to stress him out. Especially with what happened next.

First, he noticed his little pack was beginning to thin. Every time he turned around, one more of them had wandered off. He wasn't too worried about their safety; he doubted they would be in any danger unless any of them thought playing with a pitchfork would be a good idea. But that left him with fewer sets of eyes to look for the box, even if they were easily distracted. Maybe one of them would find it by accident and come back with it thinking they'd get something special for finding the treasure. He was really crossing his fingers for that to be the case. It was actually a little easier than that.

Suddenly Bryan was hit with a wave of hope. He was hearing music. A light tinkling chime. It was a music box! But where was it coming from? Well, duh! If anyone could pinpoint the source of music it was him. Bryan sprinted across the barnyard and skidded to a stop outside the open door to the biggest barn. Kairi was sitting on an overturned milk crate with several kittens in her lap. On a milk can beside her was an open music box!

"Kairi! Where'd you find that?"

"SHHH!" She scolded him. "The babies are s'eeping!"

Of course finding the music box would be an accident. Kairi wanted something to put the kittens to sleep. Okay, Bryan could go searching for the others now. He knew Kairi wouldn't leave the kittens and now he knew where the box was.

"Have you seen the others?" Bryan asked her.

Kairi pointed to the back of the barn. "They're being loud and the kitties couldn't sleep. I played the lullaby so the babies could take a nap." She didn't seem to really notice that the kittens weren't sleepy.

In the back of the barn was a side door that led to another big room. It was empty except for a big stack of hay against one wall. Sora, Riku and Lea were all crowded on a tire swing that had been tied to a support beam on the ceiling. With their combined momentum they sailed back and forth across the room. Then, one by one they'd jump and soared through the air before landing in the soft haystack. And Kairi was right. They were being quite noisy about their fun. Not that Bryan could blame them; it did look like a lot of fun. Okay, this was also easy. It would take a while to get bored of a game like that so Bryan was confident if he left they'd still be there. So that only left one unaccounted for. And of course it just had to be his sister.

The Master jogged all around the farm. Where the heck could she be!

"WAAAII'!" A little voice shrieked.

Bryan skidded to a stop. Rachel had found him. Only she looked more like a three-year-old now. She ran toward him as fast as her little legs could, arms reaching up when she got close. Bryan scooped her up. She looked very distressed.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

She didn't answer, only buried her face in her shoulder and made a few whimper-like sounds. Turns out, she'd gone back to the sheep to pet the lambs. Only none wanted to get close to the fence. She didn't try to climb the fence after a failed attempt to do so yielded a scrapped up knee. So Rachel mulled around a bit until she found the duck pond and entertained herself by trying to catch the ducklings. About this time the regression spell hit its next wave. After body and mind equalized in maturity, they continued to get younger. Rachel got tired from chasing ducks and at that time made a startling revelation. She was all alone. She panicked and ran around the farm trying to find company other than cows.

Bryan carried her back to the barn with the others. Interesting. Now he was like the big brother. By the time he got to the barn, Rachel had gone limp, fast asleep.

"C'mon guys," Bryan stepped into the room with the swing. The boys looked a lot younger now too. "Time to go."

He was greeted with a collective groan of protest.

"Just one more?" Sora begged.

"No. Kairi won the treasure hunt so we're leaving now."

"Oh come on!" Riku protested.

"I will haul you out myself if I have to so get going."

More grumbling and pouty scowls but Sora, Riku and Lea followed. Getting Kairi away from the kittens was just as interesting but he managed to pull her away from the fluff balls. But Kairi got to hold the shiny treasure so that helped.

Just like the note promised, as soon as they were all inside the ring of rocks with the music box, they were suddenly transported outside the door that led to all the Mini Quests. And they were back to normal.

Sora looked himself over. "Did that really just happen?"

Riku did a strange body shiver. "I hope we _never_ have to do that again."

"I can't remember all of it." Kairi said.

"Me neither," Rachel said.

"What exactly was the point of all that?"

"Will the old man be in his study?" Lea looked very ruffled.

"Probably, why?"

"Because there needs to be a stern exchange of words." He grunted.


	37. The Busy Island Market

The bustle of the Destiny Island market was slowly getting into full swing as the bright Island sun rose high in the clear sky. The main market streets were laid out about the same no matter which Island you went to. The buildings of the market were set up in a big square. Most were little shops with living quarters upstairs for the owners. In the market square itself were rows upon rows of vendor stands covered with brightly colored tarps. Just about everything imaginable could be found at the market square. There were restaurants and cafes. There were stands and stores for jewelry, clothing and accessories. Many stands had flowers and potted plants and there were fruit and vegetable stands everywhere. The ice cream parlor was no question the busiest on any day that wasn't wet and rainy. Even then they offered warm drinks to shake off the rainy chill. The candy shoppe was always a favorite of the local children.

Among the growing hubbub, two young men examined the wares of the market stalls as they talked. It was one of the few times Riku and Bryan had to hang out and connect as friends without worrying about training or having somewhere to be in a hurry. It truly was overdue for the two of them to have some quality male bonding time. They liked each other well enough but still didn't know a lot about one another. Also Riku wanted to get Rachel a gift and needed Bryan's help. So while there was an ulterior motive in play, Bryan still accepted the invitation for Riku to show him around one of the hot spots of his island home. But it was still good for them to get to know each other better without the distractions of training or calamity among the worlds. And the two of them would need to have a solid relationship regardless of any direction the relationship between Rachel and Riku took.

"So this is where you grew up." Bryan stated, looking around at the colorful market stalls and the quaint wood and stone buildings. "Radiant Garden has a market like this, but only runs two days a week."

"This goes on all the time. As a kid I wished it would only be once a week. That way there'd be something to look forward to. So much of island life was too quiet and predictable for me for a long time."

"Back home was kinda the same story. Big city. Big castle and still not enough to keep a kid occupied. That's how Rachel and I found No Shortcuts. We got bored."

Every other stall, somebody, friend, neighbor or elder made sure to say hello to Riku. If there was one thing that could be guaranteed for a close community, it was that everyone knew everyone. That was party why, when introduced, they had to say Bryan was a new friend visiting from a neighboring island.

"Girls like jewelry, right?"

"I guess. But I don't think you could top that Paopu necklace you got her for Christmas."

"Does she wear rings?"

"Don't be getting any ideas yet."

"What? I wasn't."

Riku had been studying the wares of the market with new eyes. The handmade items and the finely created crafts he would never have looked at twice now had his full attention. He carefully took mental notes of all he could remember Rachel saying, even in passing the things she liked as well as everything they came across in the market Bryan gave the OK to. Of course there was a hang-up to the arrangement. Bryan wasn't as helpful as Riku hoped he'd be.

As siblings, naturally they knew a lot about each other. But, there were of course some things Rachel never felt the need to tell her brother, both because he maybe didn't need to know or she knew he wouldn't care. Bryan was the same way. For example, Bryan knew that while his sister preferred to wear clothes along the violet spectrum, her favorite colors were actually royal blue and dark green. Also she hated orange. He had seen her wear both silver and gold jewelry, but she wore so little of it he never bothered to ask or notice if she preferred one or the other. She was a serious animal lover. Both of them knew that but she had so much knowledge to share about the animal kingdom, they weren't even sure if _she_ knew what her favorites were. Bryan knew she liked flowers and knew a bit about gardening. But since he could only appreciate the beauty of a garden but had no interest in botany at all, he knew very few plants and flowers by name. Least of all the ones she might favor.

This caused a particular challenge when they stopped at Widow Chamberlin's flower stand. Mrs. Chamberlin, or Aunt ChayChay as she insisted the local kids call her, was an older woman who singlehandedly ran the most successful flower shop on the island. If asked, no one who knew her could ever recall a time where she didn't have dirt under her fingernails and she always smelled of flowers and freshly-turned soil. Even all grown up, Riku still referred to her as Aunt Chay. Lifelong habits are hard to break. And she was more than happy to see him again.

"Riku!" She said, standing up from her stool. "How you doin' kid?" Chamberlin held him tight in a motherly hug then stood back to get a better look at him. Riku took note of the dried leaf that was stuck in her graying red hair. "Just like a bean sprout. I always knew you were going to be tall." Then she realized he wasn't alone. "Oh? Who's this? I've never seen you before and I know everyone."

"This is Bryan. He's visiting from a neighboring island. Bryan, this is Mrs. Chamb-Ow!" With surprisingly quick reflexes for an older lady she gave Riku a sharp thwack on the side of his head. "What was that for!"

"Where's the sense you were born with boy!"

"Sorry _Aunt Chay_."

"That's better."

Bryan looked at Riku with great amusement that he'd just been slapped by an old lady.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything."

"Then don't look at me with that tone of voice!"

"So are you boys just looking today?" Mrs. Chamberlin chuckled.

"No, I just haven't decided what to get yet."

"What's the occasion? Maybe I can help."

"He's getting a gift for his…girlfriend." It was still a hard word for Bryan to choke out but he was getting over it.

Aunt ChayChay positively glowed. "Is that _true_?"

"Yes."

"Oh, sweetheart that's wonderful!" She stood up and hugged him again. And of course she wasn't going to rest until she got every detail. "Rachel, eh? Little lamb. Perhaps a white rose for purity or innocence. Or," She took a single red and white island rose from a vase. "A red and white rose given together symbolize 'unity'."

Riku was sold on the idea but Bryan shot it down.

"Na-uh. Nice symbolism and all but Rachel would rather something she can take care of."

"She has good taste. But how do you know that?"

"She's my sister. I'm here as Riku's gift advisor and parole officer."

"I like you."

"Thanks."

"Plant or flower?"

"Flower, I think." Riku said.

"Fragrance?"

"A little."

Aunt Chay muttered to herself as she looked over her shelves for what might fit the bill the best.

"Guess there's no sense asking you if it's too strong." Riku laughed.

"I don't know." Bryan answered. "I actually thing I might be able to smell something. But the only thing I know I can smell is Darkness. I think some of these flowers might be evil."

Aunt Chay turned around just in time to ask Riku what he was trying not to laugh at but he wasn't about to repeat it.

"This is what you need." She said, handing him a small pot. "Subtly sweet and they're masters at reseeding themselves.

The two boys looked at the tiny plant she'd given him. The diminutive pot fit in his palm and the plant itself had only three shoots. They could see where all the blossoms would be but it was going to be a few days at _least_ before they opened.

"Got anything that's ready to open now?"

"Are you _questioning_ me?"

"No."

"Good. This is what you need."

Everyone knew of Aunt ChayChay's self-proclaimed gift of guessing what people needed. No one could really argue with it because she had yet to be wrong.

Bryan gave Riku a sharp tap on his upper arm to get his attention. "Put it in one of those." He pointed to a stall diagonal from them that sold ceramic mugs, plates and bowls.

A minute later Riku came back with a blue mug with a crackle over-glaze and Aunt Chay transplanted the wee flower into its new pot.

"Now you don't be a stranger, you hear? And I _**will**_ be meeting this girl!"

"Yes, Aunt Chay."

She hugged him one more time and they left.

After they finished browsing the market stalls, the boys went in a big loop around the various shops. Bryan saw a small music store and wanted to look inside. Riku barely took five steps in before going tense and turning around again.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Cyndel Conway is giving music lessons in the back."

"Wha-?"

Bryan looked to the back of the shop. Only then did he hear the whistles and shrieks of the clarinet. A mosquito-like netting served as a curtain to a small back room. A girl about their age with strawberry-blonde curls was giving a young boy lessons. If her smile was anything to go by, that shrieking was a sign of improvement.

"You scared of a girl?"

"No, I'm scared of an obsessive weirdo."

"So that's why you're freaking out?"

"I'm not freaking out."

"You kinda are."

"Self-preservation is not freaking out. If you're not getting anything let's go."

"RIKU! How yeh been kid!"

Bryan couldn't help but smile at Riku's cringe. If that Cyndel girl didn't know he was there, she would now that the shop owner called to him.

"I'm fine, Wallace." Riku said with the same enthusiasm of a man resigned to his fate by firing squad.

Wallace was a thin gentleman with bright eyes, receding hairline and impressive handlebar mustache. He spoke louder that people normally do, implying his years working with instruments left him a little deaf. The rosy patches on his cheekbones suggested many years of pressure from playing the brasses trained blood vessels to just remain open. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of ya since you came in for those drumsticks. I di'n't even know you played."

"I don't." Riku replied at a similar volume. "They were a Christmas present for a friend.

It was obvious Riku was desperate to get out of there. He introduced Bryan, who made sure to get another set of drumsticks. He told Riku later he actually hadn't been able to use the ones he'd given him for a while. Bryan had been playing with a bit too much gusto one night and snapped one clean in half and splintered the other. Suppose it served him right for not being too careful. Still, it wasn't an uncommon thing for a drummer to leave a long trail of broken drumsticks in his wake. What upset him though was he really liked the sound that particular kind of wood made but had no idea where Riku had gotten it from.

Then Bryan got a look at why Riku wanted to get going. That Cyndel girl hadn't abandoned her lesson to say hello but she had seen them. And that starry-eyed gaze she was giving Riku was a little creepy. It might have been the same look Juliet cast upon Romeo as she heard him call her name and declare his undying love from her balcony.

"Old girlfriend?" Bryan asked, quickly looking through the small assortment of symbols.

"She wishes. She's been giving me those doe-eyed stares since the fourth grade. I've _never_ given her any indication I'm interested. And now it's known that Kairi and Sora are together, she seems to think finally getting me will be fish-in-a-barrel easy now that my mind is not 'distracted' by Kairi."

"Why don't you just say something to her?"

"I have. Many times. She's taken every rejection very well because I guess she thinks I just need a bit more time to mature or something, by then I'll have come to my senses and realize we were meant to be all along."

"Wait 'til she sees you with Rachel."

"That will be an interesting day."

"Hey! I got it!"

"Got what?"

"Full-proof way to get her off your back for good."

"Yeah?"

"Well, because if she sees you with Rachel, then she'll just see it as a competitor she just has to get out of the way, right? Problem isn't solved."

"Right."

"So we do this. Make sure she's watching as we leave. I'll tenderly brush your arm then you look at me, smile and hold my hand."

" _Excuse me!"_

Although his response implied he was opposed to the suggestion, Bryan could see Riku's gears turning, weighing that a moment of awkwardness may in fact hold a lasting solution. It was all Bryan could do not to laugh. Besides, one minute of weirdness would be a lot easier to stomach than the double date dare that lasted for hours. Comparatively, there was no contest.

"Bad idea. Close-knit community. I'll never be able to shut them up if they start talking."

Finally they left. A while later the browsing ended in front of the ice cream shoppe where they shared a table outside the store, thoroughly enjoying their frozen treats in portions typical for teenage boys. For the most part they ate in silence, just watching the bustle of the market. Neither of them had gotten very much but Riku did have a few ideas for what he could get Rachel in the future.

"Better head back to the Tower after this." Riku said.

"Yeah," Bryan agreed. "Worked out pretty well you choosing today to do this."

"Why? What's today?"

"Nothing. Though you were cutting it a bit close."

"For what?"

"Tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

"You don't know?"

"Guess not."

"Whoops."

"Why? What's happening tomorrow?

"Tomorrow is Rachel's birthday."


	38. Planning

"DO **NOT**! _EVER_! DO THAT! TO ME! _AGAIN_!"

Riku didn't care his raised voice was causing a few people to turn to see what the yelling was about. Bryan was hardly aware his friend had been yelling. He was laughing so hard he could barely hear anything. He'd actually doubled over so far he slipped out of his chair.

Bryan had steeled himself for a good ten seconds, drinking in Riku's look of petrified horror before he cracked and gave away the fact he'd been kidding. Riku's furious glare would have made an angry bull halt its charge. Needless to say, Riku was not in an appreciative mood once he'd realized he'd been had.

"Stop laughing!"

But that of course only encouraged it. Riku stretched his leg under the table and pushed Bryan over with his foot. Childish, yes but there were no suitable words. Bryan eventually crawled back into his chair. But every time he started to calm down he'd catch a glimpse of Riku's murderous sleep-with-one-eye-open-promise-of-revenge glare and start all over again.

"I said-I said that and…and," Bryan gasped and wheezed. "Y-you…you…you looked like you just swallowed a squirrel." He crumpled again laughing.

Not satisfied his stares of blazing fury were getting the message across; Riku took a huge scoop of Bryan's ice cream and ate it. Again, childish but being in public prevented him from taking the action he really wanted. After all, the key to a well-executed murder is no witnesses. Thankfully Bryan took the theft of chocolate very seriously and stopped laughing. But he couldn't exactly say anything or retaliate considering the joke he just pulled.

"Truce?"

"For now." Riku growled.

"In all seriousness, her birthday is next week."

"At least that leaves for more time." Riku tried not to show the self-disgusted horror that he'd never thought to ask his girlfriend when her birthday was.

"I was hoping you could help me plan something. Nothing big but special and with friends. Which is where I'm having the most trouble. There's us at the Tower but all the rest of her friends are all over the place."

"Do the others know about his yet?"

"Not yet. Well, I don't think so. Not unless she's told anybody else when her birthday is. I know Kairi especially will want to help. Thinking while we were here we could brainstorm a bit."

And so the storm commenced. They thought about all the places they both knew Rachel liked and where she had a lot of friends. The Great Forest was out. Can't exactly open presents when you don't have hands. The forest animals have no concept of birthdays anyway. Paradise Jungle was the same. And as much as Bryan knew his sister liked worlds like St. Canard and Sherwood Forest, they just didn't feel like the perfect place.

Pixie Hollow sounded promising but was ultimately rejected too. Hundreds of fairies lived there and many of them witnessed first-hand the sibling Masters defeated Nature's End and saved the Pixie Dust tree. And the ones who weren't actually there in person, no doubt had the story told to them in detail. As the Pixie Dust tree was the core of all fairy life in Pixie Hollow, the importance of its saviors never faded among the fairies. Everyone treated the sibling team as friends and neighbors even if they weren't personally acquainted. It didn't seem fair to restrict the guest list to just Tink and her closest friends. That and anything the fairies could give as gifts would remain tiny after they left.

The Big Top really did ring with promise. The Ringmaster loved them to pieces. He remained eternally grateful for them saving the show from the Heartless years ago and participating in shows whenever they came by to visit Dumbo. No doubt he would have no problem organizing a minor performance just for her or at least singling her out at a scheduled show and have the entire audience and cast sing 'Happy Birthday'. That and an after-party at a circus was sure to be wild.

But they couldn't forget Arendelle either. Elsa, Anna and Rachel were the Three Amigas, partners in crime, Arendelle's unofficial third royal sister. There might be an exchange of unpleasant words if Rachel's birthday passed without them being told about it.

"I really don't want to have a party at the Tower if I can help it. We live there. Wouldn't exactly make it special. I guess one of her favorite gardens might work but let's keep that on only as an absolute last resort."

"What about on your ship? We could have the party on the deck and just drift in the paths between."

"Different, yes. But then we couldn't have many guests. We can't just pluck people from their worlds as we like when they're not supposed to know about inter-world travel."

"That's why it would be on your ship in a neutral setting."

"I see what you're saying. And I think we're passed the point of the different worlds being secret with some of our friends. They're not idiots. They have to know we're from a little farther away than the next county."

"A bit off-topic. When did she do for your last birthday?"

"She found and restored the old record player at our grandpas old house along with the records I loved as a kid. And she let me have her half of our Keyblade for a day. Master Yen Sid gave me the day to myself to do whatever I wanted."

"What did you do?"

"I went to Montressor to hang out with Jim Hawkins. Worked out great for me. He was on the Interstellar Academy's version of summer break so we spent the day talking and helping out at the inn. Then I let it slip it was my birthday. B.E.N vanished into the kitchen and came back thirty minutes later belting out the birthday song and had a two-layer cake. It looked bigger than it was because he hadn't skimped at all on the frosting."

"Sounds like fun."

"It was. You would've thought he single-handedly ruined everything when I pointed out to B.E.N that he'd spelled my name wrong in the frosting."

"How do you spell your name?" Riku asked, just then realizing there could be alternate spellings. He'd never actually had to write his friends name before so up until then the information was unnecessary. But then he felt a real kick in the gut when he realized he didn't know how Rachel spelled her name either. That's the kind of thing that makes you feel lower than a snakes' navel under a wagon wheel.

"Most people spell 'Bryan' with an 'I'. Mine's with a 'Y'. And just in case you're thinking it, it's spelled R-A-C-H- _ **E**_ -L, not _**A**_ _-E-L_. Back to the topic, I've always preferred my birthdays without too much drama so my visit to the Benbow Inn all worked out fine."

"And Rachel would rather a big party?" Riku confirmed.

"Well not _big_ , but yeah."

After a bit more discussion the Masters agreed Arendelle would be the best choice. If the queen wasn't out of the country on royal business or something and they weren't taking care of anything important, Bryan knew for sure the royal sisters would be thrilled to host and help out.

"The sooner we ask the better." Bryan said. "Nobody likes getting asked things last minute. You can get back to the Tower on your own right?"

"Yeah, when should I tell the others to expect you?"

"No, I can get you to Arendelle but you'll have to go back on your own."

"Why am I the one going?"

"Because I need to get back to do something Master Yen Sid wanted me to before the day is over."

"Convenient time to remember you had something to do."

* * *

"Your Majesties, Master Riku seeks a royal audience with you." Announced a balding man with a big nose.

Queen Elsa and Princess Anna looked up from their task when he spoke. The royal sisters had been sitting on the steps below their thrones, a novels'-worth of paper spread out on the floor in front of them.

"Riku!" Anna hopped over the papers to meet him half-way across the throne room. "It's good to see you again. Is Rachel or Bryan with you?"

"No, they're not. But I have something important I need to ask you both." And Riku told them all he and Bryan talked about.

"Yes! We'll do it!" Anna exclaimed the second he stopped for breath. She clapped her hands and bounced on her toes. "Oh this is going to be so amazing! There will be cake and ice cream and fruit punch and Maria's special soup for dinner! And of course we'll have games and flowers and streamers and colorful banners! Kristoff and Sven will of course have to come. I know Olaf wouldn't dream of missing it and-Oh! Oh oh oh! What am I going to get her? It has to be something really special. I mean _really_ good. I mean, we're practically family so it has to be special."

"I'm sure her knowing it was you who organized a great party will be plenty gift enough. You would be the hosts after all." Riku said. "She is the type to-."

"No it won't!"

The force of Anna's response when she rounded on him, appalled at the idea, gave Riku the feeling he'd committed some horrible offense like swearing at his mother.

Elsa stood back laughing quietly. Her sisters' excited mini-rant left little space for her to get a word in. She didn't mind. It was funny.

The three of them discussed some party plans while walking through the castle garden. Bryan said they had a week from that day. Bryan and Riku had talked about how they would let Sora, Kairi and Lea know what was going on and throughout the week smuggle them over one at a time to help with the preparations. So that meant everyone had to be careful. If it became too obvious people were disappearing from the Tower for long periods, Rachel would ask where they were. If Elsa and Anna went overboard with preparations and Rachel decided to visit during the week just because, she might see something by accident that would give away the surprise.


	39. The Morning Of

"So where is she?" Lea asked Bryan.

"I'm not sure. She was gone by the time I got up."

"This is kinda messing up the plan for an early morning birthday shout out." Sora said.

Kairi reported Rachel wasn't in the bathing hall for a morning shower either.

"Guess that leaves the kitchen as the next best possibility." Bryan said.

"She wouldn't have breakfast without us, would she?" Kairi asked. Usually the group ate together.

"It's her birthday," Riku reminded. "Entitlements."

"Then let's go." Lea said.

The five friends were gathered outside the door to Rachel and Bryan's room. The idea was to start the morning off by all shouting 'Happy Birthday!' when they left their room. Only Rachel must have gotten up earlier than all of them because no one had crossed paths with her in the hallways. Bryan even did a thorough search of their room and her bed just in case she'd turned herself into a bird or a squirrel or something for whatever reason and was still sleeping, just in a form that was easily overlooked. But he found nothing so they started downstairs.

However, upon arriving at the first T in the hallway they nearly ran into her.

"Rachel!"

"Where were you?"

"Hi guys."

Rachel was already dressed and, if the faint aroma of raspberry peony was anything to go by, she'd recently had a shower. Just how early had she gotten up? Rachel only looked up long enough to acknowledge them then turned her gaze back to the floor and continued walking. Sora and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They'd be ready to go on a tower-wide search for her if they had to and she was just _there_. Not only that, she barely said good morning. Not exactly sure what else to do, they followed her.

Rachel walked down the middle of the hallway in silence. She leaned forward a little as she went with her hands held behind her back. She looked very focused on something, even to the point of ignoring them. And that was kinda throwing a monkey wrench into how the rest of them thought they could get the morning to go.

"Why are you following me?"

"Just curious where you're going."

" _All_ of you?"

"Where were you?" Kairi asked.

"You were gone when I got up. You hate getting up early." Bryan said.

"Normally, yes."

It just felt like a good morning to get up early. And if anyone had remembered it was her birthday, it was sure to be the only time she had to herself. Rachel said she went to breakfast after a shower. Even the magic kitchen seemed to know what day it was because the only things that were laid out were her favorite breakfast foods in servings only meant for one.

She summoned one of her idea journals for stories and ate and wrote in peace for a while before Master Yen Sid came in. He too had commented on her being up earlier than normal. He'd come by to give her her birthday gift. Inside the envelope of heavy parchment was a sheet of what looked like flattened emerald. Rachel didn't even have a chance to comment on it before a flash of light startled her, causing her to drop it. On the table the jeweled paper had begun folding itself into an origami frog. She would have been fine if that's all there was to it. But when she reached for it, it hopped away! Every time she tried to catch it, the folded frog jumped just out of her reach. It hopped off the table and remained out of reach as it made its way across the room. Master Yen Sid told her to follow it so that's what she was doing.

The others looked ahead of Rachel and saw the jeweled origami frog hopping along about three feet in front of her. Every step she took, it did two quick hops to maintain the distance.

"So where's it going?" Lea asked.

"If I knew I wouldn't be following it now would I? I'd just go there."

"It _was_ kinda an obvious question." Bryan pointed out.

The frog turned down a hallway they weren't familiar with, unfolded itself and slid under the door. It reconstructed itself and came to a stop in front of what looked like a wardrobe but the dimensions didn't look quite right. Master Yen Sid was there as well.

"The cabinet?" Rachel asked.

"Go on." The sorcerer prompted.

With her five friends behind her, Rachel opened both of the cabinet doors at once. Light shone gently from within like the glow of the dawn. Something was suspended with magic in the center. Nobody was really sure what it was or what it was supposed to be because it kept changing. The object started off looking like a cane and shifted between wood, gold or silver. Then it got longer and resembled a shepherds hook. Then it got skinny and shortened into a wand. After a few seconds it stretched into a big O and became a necklace.

"And what exactly is that supposed to be?" Lea was the first to ask. Everyone was thinking the same thing.

"Once you pass to the next rank of sorcery, it's yours." Master Yen Sid answered, mostly to Rachel and dismissing the fact Lea had said anything.

"And you _do_ know what that is?" Lea redirected to Rachel after the sorcerer seemingly ignored him.

Rachel didn't answer. Every muscle in her face had gone slack. She was still staring in amazement at the shifting object in front of her. But she must have known. There was no other reason anybody could stand that still in stunned amazement without knowing what it was they were looking at.

"I'm still lost." Sora said.

"Not that it matters." Riku said. "It's not your gift. If-."

" _THANK YOU_!" Rachel squeaked, squealed and shrieked all at once. No one would have guessed it possible for a human being to move as fast as she did when she zipped to Master Yen Sid with a highly energized hug of gratitude. As soon as Rachel let go, she did a series of happy skips, spins and little jumps on her way out the door. At one point the others thought she tripped over her own feet but it was more like she'd tried to click her heels and missed.

" _What was that_?!" Lea demanded.

That all happened very quickly. None of them had any idea what the fuss was about and now Rachel was on Cloud 9.

"I feel like I'm on the outside of an inside joke." Kairi said.

Master Yen Sid was smiling and chuckled before explaining. "This," He said, gesturing to the content of the cabinet. "Is known in the world of sorcery as a Faceless Conduit. Once they have obtained the required magic, control, knowledge and skill, every sorcerer, sorceress and wizard is given one."

"You still haven't exactly said what a 'faceless conduit' even _is_." Kairi pointed out.

"It is the object that will become the catalyst for much of the holders power. Through it, magic is stored, channeled and amplified. The form it takes all depends on the one using it. No one knows ahead of time what it could become but it will always best suit the user. It could be anything. A staff. A wand. A pendant. A magic ring."

" _Anything_?" Bryan asked. It registered to him that 'every sorcerer' at one point would have included Yen Sid. "Hold on…so you must have…wait. You mean… _your hat_?"

Instantly five pairs of eyes angled up to the blue silk hat they knew so well.

" _ **That's**_ what that is?" Bryan exclaimed. It shouldn't have been that big a surprise if he took a second to think about it. He'd apprenticed under Yen Sid for years and in that time it had been very uncommon for the old sorcerer to be seen without his hat or at least to have it nearby.

"Wait, so you could've had anything and it turned into a magic hat?" Sora asked.

"I prefer to use my hands to cast spells." Yen Sid explained. "Having to hold a staff, for example, would have gotten in my way."

"Is Merlin the same?" Kairi asked. He too, of course they all knew wore a pointy hat he was rarely seen without.

"No, Merlin's is his walking stick."

"Really?" Riku said.

"That actually explains a lot." Bryan said, thinking back. "He does wave that thing around a lot when he's casting magic. And I've seen the way he can run, so he doesn't need it as a walking aid."

"I can still remember his surprised look when his magic catalyst turned into a walking stick when he was but a young man." The sorcerer chuckled.

"You wouldn't happen to have a picture of that would you?" Sora asked.

"I don't think I would believe it even if I saw it." Lea said.

The friends took a moment to try and picture what Master Yen Sid and Merlin might look like as young men when they were still just fledgling students of magic. But that was like expecting a blind person to accurately describe color.

"Can't do it." Bryan said, thinking hard but his mind failing to come up with the appropriate image.

"I got nothing." Riku agreed.

"Well, we're screwed." Lea announced. He gave Master Yen Sid not a rude, but certainly accusatory look.

"Why, Lea? What happened?" Sora, like all the others present wasn't sure how Lea was justified by his statement based on what had been recently said.

"It's not even nine in the morning and Rachel's over the moon because of her future magic wand thing. How are we supposed to top that?"

Master Yen Sid chuckled. With a twist of his wrist the frog came to life again and started hopping away. It would continue hopping until it made its way to Rachel and Bryan's room. There, it would work its way up to her nightstand and become still, turning into a little emerald figurine.

* * *

I FOUND IT!

Years ago I lost something very special to me. This special thing is something you might know as well. Some of you may know the story behind Rachel and Bryan's Keyblade. It took me forever to make a final decision in regard to the design but one thing remained the same: the key chain.

The silver charm was a ships compass, and engraved on the back read, T _here Are No Shortcuts to Anywhere Worth Going_. This was based on a necklace my mother bought me years ago. I treasured it because of its simplicity and the reminder it carried. It broke my heart when I discovered it was missing. Over two years passed and I was clean out of ideas about where it could have been misplaced or any hope of ever finding it again. But, earlier today on May 27 2016, I couldn't believe my eyes when was sorting through folders of old grade-school art projects and there it was, stuck between the pages. How it managed to fall in those folders I haven't any clue. But I'm so grateful for that push to alleviate some boredom in the form of sorting old junk reunited me with my favorite necklace and inspiration for the Keyblade, No Shortcuts.

(please don't comment on the above rant. Be happy for me if you will but comments are meant for opinions and feelings of the literature. Thank you!)


	40. The Big Day

"If you guys just flew me around the cosmos only to circle again to the Tower!" Rachel warned.

Sora had a hand on her arm, guiding her across the deck of the King. Rachel had been below deck with Kairi when Bryan flew the ship to Arendelle but they decided to also have her wear a blindfold for good measure.

"Just relax." Sora said. "You're going to love this.

Rachel then felt someone put their hands over her ears, an attempt to muffle the background noise that might betray where they were. "Lea! Let go!"

"How did you know it was me?"

"You're the only one of us with those spider-leg fingers. Is it okay to fly? I'd rather Sora lead me around like a balloon than this feeling like I'm going to trip over something."

"Almost there." Kairi promised. "And don't worry. There's nothing in the way."

Bryan and Riku had rushed ahead to make sure everything was in place. Rachel hadn't stopped pestering about where they were. It was obvious _why_ they were dragging her around.

"C'mon guys! I can _hear_ you smiling! Where are we!"

"Just a second." Sora said. He stood behind her and untied the blindfold.

The second the blindfold fell away, a hearty "SURPRISE!" erupted from all around. The main castle courtyard had been transformed for the party. Banners of both colorful cloth and twisted ice were draped overhead. Elsa had obviously put a great deal into the decorations with her magic. Part of the courtyard had been iced over for skating. The icy punchbowl looked more like a two tiered fountain where the juice was pooled in its frozen container. Across the entryway " _Happy Birthday Rachel_ " had been written in icicles.

Of course Elsa and Anna were there. So were Kristoff, Sven and Olaf. Also, to great surprise and delight were King Mickey, Donald and Goofy, Master Yen Sid, Merlin and Archimedes. Normally such a gathering of so many off-worlders in one place that wasn't neutral ground like Disney Castle or the Tower would be against the rules. But this was a special occasion and they were all with trusted friends.

"This is where you guys kept disappearing to all week?"

"You noticed?"

"Just be grateful she didn't ask or try to follow."

Elsa and Anna approached Rachel first with a gleeful spring in their step and pulled her along to get a better look at the beautiful courtyard.

"You put all this together?" Rachel asked, smiling as they exchanged hugs.

"Part of it." Anna said. "It was their idea to have the party here."

Anna pointed to Bryan and Riku. Bryan braced himself for the hug he knew was coming. He wasn't usually the huggy type but he wasn't so low as to turn down an expression of gratitude when it was offered. Except when she followed up the hug with a big long kiss on the cheek. The way his eyes squinted shut and his nose wrinkled up you'd've thought Bryan had just been licked in the face by a camel. Riku however had no such issue with the way she chose to express her gratitude and accepted it openly.

"Before we get started," Elsa took Rachel by the hand and spun her around. As she did, the ice queen used her magic and transformed Rachel's casual wasn't-planning-on-leaving-the-house clothes into a lovely summer dress of sea glass-blue and green. The dress was lightweight and soft with billowy sheer sleeves.

Then everyone was greeted properly. Olaf, per the norm, wanted to be first in line to give and receive a warm hug. Everyone got warm hugs. King Mickey, Donald and Goofy had known Rachel and Bryan the shortest amount of time but had fully integrated them into the close friend circle. They were all guardians of light, but more importantly, they were all friends. And who doesn't like coming to birthday parties anyway?

And so the party commenced. Elsa and Donald kicked things off by shooting Ice magic and confetti into the air so the sky was graced with rainbow sparkles. The younger demograph skated for a while, racing and getting small chairs and having a relay by pushing each other back and forth. Then Elsa, Anna and Kairi led Rachel on a castle-wide scavenger hunt for her presents. When she found one, Olaf rushed it back to the courtyard to open later. When they got back, lunch was ready. After lunch there would be presents and cake.

Presents were always fun even if they're not for you. Merlin said some funny words and a tall-backed wooden chair appeared by the table of gifts. Rachel clapped her hands like a little kid. And why wouldn't she? Birthdays are a time to celebrate that you made it through another year, well wishes for the next one and a day to forget how old you're supposed to be.

"For you, my dear." Merlin said. With a bit of magic a little box tied with a red ribbon walked itself over first, sat down and was still.

Inside was a silver ring with a smoothly polished ruby the size of a pea. In a ring around the stone were a dozen polished bits of jasper. In the ring of jasper was a single gold bead.

"Now you be careful with that!" Archimedes instructed as much as ordered. "It is very old and very magical."

"What does it do?" Rachel asked, trying it on. She thought it looked a bit big but once she slipped it on the pointer finger of her left hand, it shrunk and fit comfortably snug. "Ooh! Personalization."

Archimedes cleared his throat and stood up straighter from his perch on Merlin's hat. He spoke in his best professor-ly voice. "Firstly, very clearly say the incantation, _Igtarum_. Then give the band around the stone a single twist _counterclockwise_. The magic will activate and the ring will turn you invisible."

There was a soft chorus of "oooohs!" by all present.

"Oh I am so trying this." Rachel stood up, " _Igtarum_." She spoke slowly and looked at Merlin to confirm she'd pronounced it right. When he nodded, she twisted the band of jasper around once. The gold bead clicked into place once it went all the way around. The ruby sparkled a little from within. Then, like a heat ripple, Rachel disappeared.

"Anything or anyone you touch will also become invisible." Merlin explained. "The magic lasts for several hours before the ruby loses its power and must recharge."

"But remember that sharing the power will drain the ring faster. Simply twist it again and it the spell will end." Archimedes said in his this-is-important-but-Merlin-forgot-to-say-it voice.

 _"This is so freakin' cool!"_

"Oh great," Bryan said to whoever was nearby and listening. "She is going to cause so much trouble with that thing."

"Somebody c'mere! I want to see what it does to two people."

"I'll try it!" Kristoff stepped forward. Anna gave him a pouty scowl. She wanted to try it to. "Ok…where are you?"

"I haven't moved."

Despite this knowledge, Kristoff still proceeded like he were trying to navigate a dark room. He made a gasp of surprise when Rachel bumped his arm, then watched as the fabric of his sleeve fold and move as her hand patted down his arm. Their fingers intertwined and a second later he too vanished.

"That is creepy!"

"This is amazing!"

Rachel twisted the ring again and they became visible. "Thank you, Merlin, Archimedes. This is awesome."

"Mine next!"

Kairi slid her present forward. It was perfectly square, very colorful and held closed with a braided ribbon. Inside were several other smaller boxes of all sizes. Each of them contained a different sweet or chocolate from the candy shop back on Destiny Island.

"I'll hold on to that for you." Bryan said. He slid the box toward himself. In response Rachel swatted his wrist and shielded the box. "What? I was just going to make sure the chocolate was safe and I was going to give it right back."

"Giving back only the things you wouldn't eat."

"Exactly."

Kristoff's gift was a bracelet woven together with a technique known only to the trolls. Little crystals and pretty stones were woven within it. Olaf had made a small sculpture of him and Rachel made of pebbles glued together with leaves, sticks, bits of cloth and string for clothes and hair. He'd written "Best Buddys" on the base. His handwriting and craftsmanship left much to be desired but it was made with love. Next gift was from Lea. Rachel unwrapped the cylinder container, saw it had a pop-on lid refused to open it.

"Na-uh! No way." She put it back on the table and pushed it away. "That looks look suspiciously like a can of spittin' snakes!"

"It is not a gag gift!" Lea defended.

"Then you open it."

"It's not my birthday."

"Then I don't believe you."

"Would I prank you on your birthday?"

"Water beetle."

"You still can't prove that was me."

"You open it."

"Fine."

So Lea took the container and popped the lid off to prove were no spitting snakes inside. He even shook it to prove there wasn't anything bad in it. In fact, it didn't make a sound at all.

"Now hold it up to your eye and squeeze it."

"It kinda hurts that you don't trust me."

Bryan made a sharp bark-like laugh with a heavy you've-got-to-be-kidding undertone. Kairi very obviously counted off on her fingers while looking thoughtful for all the examples of the pranks he'd pulled on Rachel that proved him untrustworthy. Lea didn't bother responding and did as Rachel said. Even then when he handed it to her she looked between him and it suspiciously and only looked down into it at arm's length.

But her look of suspicion melted away into confusion, like she wasn't sure exactly what she was looking at. Of course that got the others curious. Rachel reached two fingers into the tube and scissor-pinched whatever was inside. The raised eyebrow that followed implied the expectations for whatever she thought it might be were not met. But in a good way. She pulled out whatever was inside…and pulled…and pulled. There was another round of 'oooohs' (mostly from the girls). Rachel stood up to get a better look at what had been stuffed inside the cylinder. It was big shawl, about the length of a blanket but not even half as wide. But _what_ it was wasn't the most curious part.

"What is this _made_ of?" Rachel breathed in awe.

It shimmered like fine satin but somehow seemed more fluid. The colors were a magnificent blend of reds, oranges and yellows. It was very light, exquisitely soft and warm like it had been left in the sun. The colors even appeared to shift as the fabric rippled.

"Did you _make this?!_ It's like its woven with flame!" Rachel draped the shawl over her shoulders and tossed one end over her left shoulder. Anna was rubbing a corner against her cheek, marveling at the texture.

Lea had a very obvious 'Na-uh I'll never tell' posture as he looked skyward at nothing. Sora saw him mouth, "Nailed it!"

"It would appear I have greatly underestimated you and for that I apologize." Rachel gave Lea a big thank you hug.

Lea smiled. "Happy birthday." And the second before the hug ended, "But tomorrow it's business as usual."

"Oh, absolutely."

"Wow, Lea." Kairi nudged his arm. "I didn't know you could be such a big sweetheart."

"You repeat that to anyone I'll deny it."

Sora's gift was much like the one Rachel made for him at Christmas. He found a large picture frame with several slots for photos. One large slot on the right and three smaller ones stacked on the left. The frame he decorated primarily with little shells and feathers from his island home. The biggest hole for a photo had a copy of their group picture from Christmas. The rest were empty

Even Mickey, Donald and Goofy came with a gift. All the residents of Disney Castle had chipped in to help make a cuckoo-like clock that was a perfect miniature of the castle. There were little characters of Donald, Daisy and Goofy in the gardens in front of the castle. King Mickey and Minnie came out of the clock when it chimed, dancing around a rotating heart. Chip, Dale and Jiminy were all standing in a castle window. Jiminy himself must have done the painting because if observed under a magnifying glass the color details were spot on.

Finally Anna slid a tower of three boxes in front of Rachel. Kristoff looked at the stack then back to Anna with a raised eyebrow.

"I couldn't decide!"

"I see that."

The top box (and the smallest) had a lovely silver chain dripping with diamond-like crystals. But it wasn't quite right to be a bracelet.

"That's a collar for Tatania." Anna explained. Rachel had once brought the tower cat with her on a visit. But even though the sisters were in agreement Rachel had a beautiful, regal looking cat, Tatania hated inter-world travel so she'd only been brought over once.

"Oh great. She already believes she has total dominion over every soul she surveys. Imagine what dripping with jewels like a queen will do to her ego?"

"Your cat is a queen?" Olaf asked.

"She thinks she is."

The second box was considerably larger and much like Kairi's in terms of its contents. Anna had filled it with several smaller boxes of fudge, chocolates and pastries from Arendelle's royal bakers and confectioners.

"Okay, as your caring, _concerned_ brother I am obligated to take these and check every one of them for poison. It will be of great risk to my personal safety but you're worth it." Once again Bryan tried to slide the box away.

"* _Hiss_ *!"

The final box was very flat. But the best had been saved for last.

"This one is from both of us," Elsa said.

"Oh?" Rachel undid the ribbon and took off the lid. The box contained a jeweled gold circlet. The expert craftsmanship was obvious. It got several _ooohs_ and small gasps of amazement.

Elsa picked it up first and told Rachel to stand up again.

"We thought this would be the most appropriate gift we could offer," Anna said.

"Indeed," Elsa said. "We would like to offer this circlet to you as a symbol of the wonderful friend you've been to us and the people of Arendelle these last few years. In that time it has felt as if we have known you forever-."

"Every time you visit it's like having a traveling sister come home," Anna didn't mean to interrupt but she didn't want to have her important addition to be missed. She also had a look like she was over-eager for her sister to get to the good part.

Elsa chuckled quietly at her outburst before continuing. "So, with the presentation of this circlet, from now on you may consider yourself a royal sister of Arendelle," Elsa slipped the circlet beneath Rachel's bangs and tucked the combed teeth along the slender side bands into her hair.

"This isn't an official position of power or anything," Anna added just to make sure there was no confusion. "But you know what we mean, right?"

Rachel had that half-smile where you want to smile for forever but you're also so touched you're teetering on the edge of tears.

The three friends exchanged a very happy group hug. Olaf kinda gate-crashed the moment when he started bawling loudly with emotional tears and sniffles.

Thank you's and hugs were exchanged all around after the presents were through. Riku, (surprise, surprise) wanted to give his to her in private. Bryan considered his gift the party itself. He did help plan the whole thing after all.

Then it was time to break into the good stuff. Because the cake was quite sizeable and the guest list wasn't that long, everyone was welcome to very large slices. Thanks to Elsa's magic, ice cream outside on a summers day was in no danger. It was also the point in the party where nobody had to worry about feeling guilty if they weren't sitting next to or talking with the birthday girl. Sora sat with King Mickey, Donald , and Olaf. Elsa was talking about magic with Merlin and Yen Sid. Lea was with her.

"Hey," Kairi said quietly to everyone else at their table. "Is it just me or has Lea been paying a lot of attention to Elsa this week?"

Anna gasped. "I noticed that too! Whenever he came by to help, they'd end up talking more than planning!"

"You don't think they might have a thing for each other, do you?" Kristoff asked. They all spoke secretly and quietly.

" _Lea and Elsa_?" Bryan said, sputtering and nearly choking on a piece of cake. "Come on. She's a queen and a woman of taste and he's... _Lea_."

Everyone covertly looked over to where Lea and Elsa were standing before looking back to each other.

"Mind you, they do seem very comfortable talking to each other." Kairi commented.

"Yeah, but so do you with Bryan or Kristoff," Anna pointed out.

"True."

"But wouldn't that be kind've strange?" Riku asked. "I mean, she's the Ice Queen and Lea's the equivalent to a Pyromancer."

"They _do_ say that opposites attract." Anna had a very thoughtful look about the whole thing.

"But that still makes me wonder," Rachel said. "Lea's body heat runs higher than normal because of his power over fire." She told them Leas' suspicions of being an Elemental. "I can imagine Elsa would be about the same. So if the two extremes met…wouldn't a kiss between them sound kinda like _pssssssskkk_?" She imitated the sound of water droplets hitting a hot pan.

Of course that got everybody thinking about it and they all started laughing.

"That has all the makings of an inside joke." Bryan commented once he could breathe.

Anna and Kairi immediately raised their hands like they were ready to swear an oath of secrecy.

After a while the wizards announced they were afraid they needed to get going, as did King Mickey, Donald and Goofy. They all received farewell and thank you hugs before they left. But that didn't mean the party was over. They skated again, played a few games, had more cake and just relaxed and enjoyed the time together. As soon as she was able, Kairi took Sora off to the side and let him in on the funny thing he'd heard them laughing about before. Lea of course was curious about what had caused the bout of laughter too but nobody was telling him anything.

Riku still had his gift to give so he took Rachel by the hand and led her through the castle to one of the balconies where he left it. The balcony overlooked the garden. It was kind've a romantic spot and that's partly why Riku chose it. The flower was hidden behind the drapes just inside the window to the balcony on a pedestal. He'd also found a second gift.

"Today has been awesome." She said, surprising him with a hug. "Thank you for your part in it."

"And I haven't even given you your gift yet." Riku turned her from their hug and pulled back the drape. The flower was sitting on top of a small box. Two of the shoots were in full bloom. The third was just a few days behind.

"Oh I love it!" Rachel said, picking up the little flower in its pretty blue pot. She gave it a long, refreshing sniff and sighed. Great. Must not have been too strong then. "Is this like a lily of the valley?"

Oh crap. Riku didn't know and Aunt Chay hadn't told him. And like an idiot he hadn't even thought to ask.

"So you like it?" He asked to avoid answer.

Rachel snuggled up to him, flower still in hand like she were holding a delicate egg. "It's beautiful."

"And there's one more thing."

"The fun just doesn't stop today, does it?"

Riku took the flower and put it back on the pedestal and presented the final box. It looked very plain, rectangular and flat. From her little awed gasp when he opened the lid, Riku knew he nailed it. His second gift was a large decorative comb carved from a seashell.

Shell combs were a great prize for any woman on any of the Destiny Islands. It was so hard to find shells big enough to do the job and to beautifully craft one without it shattering. He had to get one of the larger ones because it would need big teeth if it was going to hold her long hair. It glimmered opaque white and pale gray. Purples and greens danced across the carved edges as the light shone on it. The top consisted of three open island flowers with a long-tailed hummingbird holding its head up proudly.

Rachel picked it up gingerly, as though afraid even the slightest touch would shatter the magnificent craft. The way her eyes sparkled as she examined it said all that he needed to hear.

"Want to put it in now?"

"Yes!Yes!Yes!"

Rachel handed the comb back to him and used both hands to undo the tie of her ponytail. When it was out, she shook her head and her hair cascaded down around her shoulders. Wow. Now that he thought about it, Riku realized he'd never seen her with her hair down before. She always had it pulled up in that ponytail on the top of her head. Even as a mermaid her hairstyle remained the same. At Christmas had been the only time he'd seen her hair different but that time she'd had her hair pulled back and braided. She looked like an entirely new person with it down. He liked it. The sparkling circlet was partially hidden beneath her bangs but it did add a really nice, elegant air to her appearance too.

Rachel tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and turned her head. It took Riku a second to realize she was waiting for _him_ to put the comb in. Terrific. He didn't know anything about how girls did their hair. He barely took care of his. Well, she'd probably do it herself if he couldn't get the comb to stay put. So he gave it a shot. Surprisingly the way he pulled back and twisted a lock of her hair must've been the right way to go because the comb didn't immediately slip out after he let go. Rachel shook her head to test if she could feel it sliding. When she didn't, she moved closer to him for a hug. Expressing due gratitude was something, he'd noticed, Rachel always made good on letting people know. He hugged her back.

"This has been such a wonderful day."

Riku smiled and hugged her tighter. "Happy birthday, Rachel."


	41. Before The Party

During the week _before_ Rachel's birthday, the rest of the team were allowed to take breaks from their training to jump over to Arendelle to prepare for the party. Part of this was easy. Rachel was spending a lot of her time at the castle for sorcerers in training. Often, she'd be there for days without them hearing from her. But for this endeavor, her being out of the way made sneaking about a lot easier. They had to be as efficient as they could in the time they were away making preparations. Master Yen Sid knew what they wanted to do and was okay with it. But there was still training to be done and an overlying threat to all the worlds that was still top priority. That being said, the sorcerer wasn't so ridged that he wouldn't allow his pupils to let loose and have fun. It was possible, after all, to be so focused on something you can actually lose focus of it and especially miss other important things around you.

One of those days went a bit like this.

With just less than two days left before Rachel's birthday, Kairi stayed behind at the Tower in case Rachel came back. She would be there to serve as the distraction in hopes her offer to hang out and have girl-time would keep Rachel from noticing the Tower was empty apart from Master Yen Sid. So while Kairi was holding the fort back home, the boys were over in Arendelle, helping the royal sisters decorate the courtyard for the party.

During this time, the friends of course had enjoyed each other's company while they planned and decorated. Bryan knew Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven the longest. After their adventures in the Dream Worlds, the sibling team sought out Arendelle the next time the lanes between opened to meet their friends for real. Rachel had hit it off with Anna and Elsa in a big way and had remained great friends ever since. Bryan and Kristoff were pretty tight too. Sora and Riku had only been to Arendelle a few times; the first being the time Rachel and Bryan whisked the trio from the Destiny Islands to go world jumping. So they knew the royal sisters, Kristoff and Olaf pretty well and enjoyed their company a lot. For Lea, however, preparing for the party was his first time on this world. There was a strained mix of keeping focused on the purpose of the visit and getting to know the people the rest of his friends were already acquainted with. And they only had a few hours a day (if even that on some days) to get things around. And Elsa and Anna respected that the key bearers wanted to be there to help and be a part of the planning so they didn't get too carried away during the times the heroes had to go back.

On one of the last days, two interesting things happened. The first was an instance that, looking back, the friends would hold to as absolute proof Lea might be nurturing a thing for Elsa. It wasn't anything too spectacular, sweet or really anything anyone would ever even think twice about at all. However, when you suspect something, you can fabricate evidence from just about anything if you look back on it with a certain preset in your mind.

They had been talking a lot with most of their conversations being one-on-one. Did it mean anything? Not necessarily if you looked at it from the point of any two people that hit it off as friends spend a lot of time talking together. Did speaking alone mean anything special? Not necessarily. Did not wanting anyone else to butt in during the conversation mean anything? Again, not really. You could be interrupting something the speakers wanted to keep between the two of them or it could just be because nobody likes it when their friends are nosy. Which was of course very rich considering how pesty Lea proved to be when it came to teasing Rachel and Riku.

During this day, Lea and Elsa stopped preparing the courtyard to start a conversation. At this time, the second interesting thing happened. While Lea and Elsa talked, Bryan showed a side of him so few people ever got to see. While Bryan enjoyed letting loose and having fun with his friends, you had to secure yourself on a very particular, very hard to get to shelf of respect and likeness for him to even consider letting go completely and being an all-out goofball in front of you. So, while Elsa had her back to him as she spoke with Lea, Bryan saw his chance to entertain his friends and mess with Lea and he likely wouldn't do a thing about it.

Lea and Elsa were facing each other. Elsa was telling him the story about how this whole party thing reminded her of how she too had decorated this courtyard before for Anna's birthday. The queen told him all she'd done to make sure her sisters' birthday was absolutely perfect. She'd led her sister on a city-wide hunt for all her presents that took forever to plan and get set up. But Elsa had gotten a sniffle that turned into a fever by the end of the day because she refused to let up her efforts to ensure Anna had the perfect day.

Bryan had a few decorations under his arm but that was hardly enough to be even considered an obstacle for what he planned to do. First Bryan started just by making faces at Lea. He had to be doing this for Lea's benefit. There was really no need or purpose to tease Elsa behind her back; he just didn't have that kind of friendship with her. Then Bryan rubbed a garland across his back while rolling his shoulders, making a bad imitation of a strip tease. That turned into a quick mime-trapped-in-a-box gag. That was followed by The Egyptian then (Heaven help us) the Macarena.

But Lea was in the particular position to have no choice but to witness everything. He was standing in front of Elsa, keeping his eye on her as she told her story, but the height difference put him high enough over her to have his peripheral unobscured and couldn't have _not_ seen what Bryan was doing even if he wanted to. The only way not to would be to be so focused on Elsa she might ask what he was looking at.

But that wasn't the half of it. After that continued the bad dancing. There was something like a wonky chicken dance, followed by a _very_ bad rendition of the cabbage patch. That turned into a groovy sprinkler which of course gave way to the disco. A wiggly body-roll followed a few times, only to pause in wonder if he should get on the ground and try the worm. And of course, he was deliberately being bad at all of them.

Lea made a comment on Elsa's story after she said her sneezing during sickness actually magically created mini snowmen they called snowgies. He must have made a look or something that got Elsa's attention because she turned around. Without skipping a beat, Bryan held up the box of decorations so quickly no one would have guessed he hadn't been holding it the whole time unless you'd seen it yourself.

"Where do you want these to go?" He asked.

"Over there should be fine." Elsa told him, pointing.

She turned back to Lea and the tomfoolery continued. From a distance Bryan could see Lea was starting to get annoyed with him but apparently Elsa missed it. Bryan finished his performance with a few other mime gags. For his last skit, Bryan actually turned around. He wrapped his arms around himself, giving the illusion that someone was in front of him, giving him a hug. Only the way he was moving his hands, it would have been a very intimate hug from someone with wandering hands. The finale was him twisting to reach and doing a shy jump as he slipped his hand in his own back pocket.

Lea had the look of someone who desperately wanted to throw something. In any other circumstance, he probably would've thought the whole display was hilarious. The other boys certainly thought so. Sora, Riku and Kristoff were a distance away; dying. Even Sven was doing some kind of reindeer chortle. Breathing, if they could catch their breath at all, came in long wheezes. It didn't help they were desperately trying to keep it quiet to not tip off Elsa. Olaf thought the show was amusing but it flew completely by him why they were laughing so hard.

The rest of the afternoon had a very odd atmosphere to it. The other guys were desperately trying to act casual; all while not making any kind of eye contact with Lea for fear they'd start laughing (or he'd flambé them). Bryan was of course acting like a total call-him-whatever-you-want about it. He was calm, casual, easy-going and pleasantly offering Lea occasional assistance. Whenever this happened, whomever happened to be closest at the time almost always made a strangled sputter sound that turned into a cough or throat clearing. But that sputter was forceful enough you'd've thought they had just blown out their own teeth.

Elsa had the look of someone who knew they were on the outside of an inside joke. And Olaf was silenced every time he seemed likely to tell her.


	42. INTERMISSION

So, it occurred to me that since the Shenanigans aren't really a 'story', there might not be an actual 'ending'. They're a collection of fun scenes I had in my head that I wanted to write out. If any come to me in the future, I'll post them too. So this is the appendix/disclaimer/explanation for some of the things that have happened thus far. with no visible 'end' in sight I cant just post it after the last chapter. And i need to give credit where credit is due so, no time like the present!

Obviously I claim no ownership to the KH cast or concepts.

I do need to give a big, thankful shout-out to my good friend (who will be known by her DeviantArt name) Mama Kiwi. Without her, the Shenanigans corner would be pretty bare. She was, and is my soundboard for the majority of the Bound By Light adventure. I talked myself into a lot of ideas just by talking to her. In fact, there is (in the works) a whole new adventure to Bound By Light that came about because we were talking geek together. And that snowballed so many amazing ideas. The adventure will continue for much longer than I planned because of her. I think my favorite idea banter between us was about the double-date dare. If I'm remembering right, the gender-swap double-date came about because of something she said. Mama Kiwi is directly responsible for the fun and laughs found here in the shenanigans corner. Many of the ideas were mine but she was always ready to listen to what I had come up with and made suggestions all the time. Thank you, Mama Kiwi. The Bound By Light Shenanigans are for you.

A mantis shrimp really does have three lenses per eyeball and supposedly can see twelve (heard it argued 16) color wavelengths. So it sees colors the rest of us are incapable of even imagining.

In the chapter Kiss Up, the whole kissing up scene was inspired from a conversation that happened on M*A*S*H season 9, "Your Retention Please". I love M*A*S*H and sometimes those lines fit in so perfectly to a scene I intend on writing they're too good not to use. Same with the part about the dead minnows in Lea's jacket pockets. That was a prank I first saw on M*A*S*H. It was beautiful.

The movie Lea and Rachel watch "The House on Haunted Hill" is a real movie from the 50's starring Vincent Price (that movie is terrible). The italicized dialogue is from the actual script. He's the actor they refer to as the only one of the cast that can actually act. I share that opinion after being given a DVD set of Edgar Allen Poe stories starring the late-great Mr. Price that he's the only one who feels like he's not trying so hard it looks fake.

At one point I really did have three goldfish named Shimmer, Glimmer and Freddie, like the pet fish Rachel got from Riku.

The prank war was helped a long greatly by Mama Kiwi. She helped me with some of the prank ideas and finalized that it should be between Rachel and Lea.

The altoid incident actually happened. A co-worker of mine claimed he had no problem with stuffing like ten Altoids in his mouth at once. After a minute he started making weird faces, his eyes went all twitchy, he whoop-hollered and even drooled a bit at one point. I was laughing so hard I had to use that somewhere.

Kairi's Keyblade, If You Can Dream, was inspired from an actual Disney song, sung by the various Disney princesses by the same title. You can YouTube it (can't believe you can actually use that as a verb now). If you think about the description given, and elements of the lyrics you'll be able to pick up on where the inspiration came from. The blade is silver, considered to be a very pure metal, reminiscent of her pure heart.

Details surrounding the illusion paint chapters came from talking it out with Mama Kiwi.

the bit about Lea sneezing steam was Mama Kiwis' idea. I can't even remember what got that conversation started.

In the segment where Rachel is testing a terrible tasting potion on her friends, Sora comments that the potion is so horrible he's sure he can see the dead. This is of course in reference to the 1999 blockbuster film, _The Sixth Sense_ ; co-starring a young Haley Joel Osment, whom we all know is the voice of Sora.

Don't even get me started on the Double Date Dare. The idea was mine (where exactly it came from I have no idea and I really don't care) but Mama Kiwi really helped it blossom into the glorious awkwardness it ended up being. Because as a writer, torturing characters is very often the most fun thing you can ever do. Especially if it makes you laugh.

Ok, enough of this now, back to the show!


	43. Tatania

At the breakfast table the key bearers looked forward to one of the few 'free days' they got. The last of them were trickling in. No one really cared if by the time the last of them came in the first was already leaving. They saw each other all the time after all. Rachel and Bryan were almost always the first to arrive. But they had also been on the same training courses for the longest so rising early was just the way they were wired. The magic kitchen had gotten to know everyone and their tastes pretty well too. So it was guaranteed your favorites were hot and ready for you by the time you got there.

That morning, Kairi came in a little later, shortly followed by Lea. As usual, Sora and Kairi had designated two seats together as their own. Same with Rachel and Riku. Bryan had his feet up on the table; his chair leaned back on two legs and quietly munched on his peanut butter bagel. Lea sauntered in with an annoyed posture. After the whole prank war, this was an atmosphere he gave off that got the immediate attention of all those present. Rachel hadn't done anything so if it weren't for a new factor to Lea's early-morning irritation she wouldn't have even looked up.

Lea leaned across the table, Tatania (who had gone boneless) in one hand.

"Hey! You put my baby down!"

"You stop coming into my room!"

Lea dropped the cat across the table at Rachel.

"You leave her alone! And what do you mean about me in your room?" Rachel picked up her baby and cuddled her in her lap.

"Yes, what _does_ he mean by you in his room?" Riku cut in.

"I haven't been in his room since the wax-strip prank."

"Then how do you explain your cat waking me up this morning?"

"Tatania woke you up?" Kairi asked.

"Yes, she did." Lea wasn't too happy. "Imagine, if you will, getting woken up from a great nights sleep by tickling whiskers, vibrating purrs and the first thing you see is a pink triangle nose and huge green eyes. And it was still dark and she's black so that's _all_ I saw."

"It'll be no different than what your future wife will see every morning." Bryan said, but in such a way that would suggest he really wasn't interested.

Sora laugh-choked on his juice.

Lea ignored both of them. "So, if you say you didn't let her in, then explain to me how she got in."

"Maybe she followed you on your heels when you weren't looking." Kairi suggested.

"No, she wasn't. Your cat doesn't know how to 'follow'. She skips straight to tying herself in a knot around your ankles."

"I didn't let her in. I got better things to do at night, like _sleep_!" Rachel countered. "You think you're worth me reducing my beauty sleep regiment for?"

"There's a mine there begging to be stepped on but I'll ignore it. Then how did she get in? This isn't the first time. This is just the first time she woke me up like that."

"I think you're forgetting just how special Miss Whiskers is."

"Just because she's your pet and you love her doesn't give her super powers."

"No, but living in the Tower her whole life does."

"What?"

"Where did you get her, anyway?" Sora asked. "Did you bring her with you when you came to train here?"

"Actually, no." Rachel said. She fed Tatania a piece of her omelet. "I honestly don't know what world she was born on."

"Magic mistake." Bryan cut in.

"What?"

"It's true. My first attempt to summon something bigger than a spool of thread ended up with a loud puff of sparkles and a very confused, freshly-weaned fluff ball on the table. I had no way of sending her back so Master said I could keep her. She's grown up in the Tower ever since."

"That still doesn't explain how she got into my room or how to make sure she doesn't do it again."

"Magic." Bryan said.

"What?"

"She's magic."

"It's amazing that every word you've said since this conversation started sounds like you're bored." Riku said to him. Bryan just shrugged.

"How can a cat be magic?"

"Is it possible he's never met Dumbo? Or Bambi? Or Abu? Or Iago?" Rachel said to her brother. Again, he just shrugged. "You seriously haven't seen how Tatania watches people and how she acts? She was just a baby when she came here. Everything about the Tower is saturated with magic. It wore off on her. I don't know just how aware of herself she is or how much she understands that a normal cat wouldn't have the mental capacity for. And I don't know how that translates into getting through a shut door without help."

At long last Lea looked like he believed her, even though it didn't provide the answer that he wanted.

* * *

 _An unmeasured amount of time later_

* * *

The male side of the key bearer team was gathered one day ina study room. Only they were mostly chillin' than anything and that actually made the name, 'study' room irrelevant. Rachel was alone back at the training castle of sorcery and they had no idea where Kairi was. That is, until she marched in looking very flustered.

"Hey, Kairi," Sora waved. "What're you-?"

"Hold on!" She said sharply.

Being a normally soft spoken and kindly voiced person, this got the attention of everyone present. And surprisingly, she marched right up to Lea. Even more surprising was she had Tatania under one arm in such a way that suggested the cat was somehow important to her huffiness. She held Tatania with both hands just below the cats front legs. Kairi came to a halt before Lea and presented the feline to him. The action was so close and so sudden Lea had little choice but to take the cat from her. The Tower cat had a very _meh_ attitude about the whole thing; waiting for the foolish mortals to finish their business so she could go about and find something else to do.

"Um…it's not my birthday and that already belongs to someone."

"This is crossing the line!"

"Huh?"

"Look at her!"

"I am. I don't have much choice at this distance."

"She's fat!"

"She's also got a lot of hair."

Sora, Riku and Bryan hadn't said anything but the whole display had their undivided attention.

"This is because she keeps sneaking into your room and Rachel hasn't tried to stop her, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean to tell me you haven't been feeding her when you shouldn't? Slipping scraps at dinner or in between meals? I know it's not a big deal to you but Rachel has her on a strict feeding schedule for a reason."

"Why're you even picking on me!"

"Because Sora wouldn't do anything like that and Riku and Bryan, as boyfriend and brother know not to mess with a girls pet."

"It's true." Bryan said. "I don't bother the cat and Rachel doesn't bother me."

"Kairi, think about it." Riku said. "Since when has Lea gotten back at Rachel for anything that didn't involve her directly?"

"He's right," Sora agreed. "Are you sure you didn't just mistake all that fur for waistline inches?

"Uh,"

Lea's 'uh' wasn't an 'uh' like "I'm confused and have no clue what to do or say" but an 'uh' like he realized something and couldn't think of anything else more appropriate to say.

"What is it, Lea?" Sora asked.

"I think I discovered the problem," Lea said. He had Tatania held out at arm's length and eye level. But his gaze was angled slightly downward.

"Which would be?" Riku inquired.

When Lea didn't answer the four of them shuffled closer to get a look at what Lea was talking about. After a second of looking at the cat like expecting her to do something did they finally all see what Lea had. Along her belly were two rows of raised mounds of flesh where there was no longer any fur. There was a collective gasp of realization.

"Oh, _OH_!" Kairi exclaimed. "Tatania's going to be a mom! But…how?"

"Now that one you're not pinning on me." Lea finally put the cat down. "As for _how_ , there are some obvious gaps in your education."

"That's not what I meant and you know it! What are we supposed to tell Rachel?"

"Tell her? What do you mean tell her?"

"Uh, yeah, why do we have to tell her anything?"

"It's her cat, shouldn't she already know?"

"Yeah, but if I couldn't tell because of all the hair-." Kairi insisted.

"And the existing notion that it was Lea's fault."

"-maybe she didn't either. How can Tatania be pregnant? She's the only cat here."

"So…why are you acting all freaked out like this is somehow our fault? It's not like we did anything that resulted in this."

"Um…" Kairi just then realized how silly that sounded.

"So what now? Does Rachel know? Think she'll know when and how it happened?" Sora asked.

"I'd hope so," Bryan said. "If she has no idea then we may be dealing with the immaculate cat."

* * *

"Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Of course I do."

"You didn't really bring another cat here, did you? Master may have let you keep your cat and our Dream Eaters but I don't think he'll approve of you turning this place into a zoo."

"I didn't bring anything here. The whole thing was an accident. I brought her to Arendelle to show Anna and Elsa during one of my free days. She wandered off for a while. Best I can figure, she met a tomcat during that time."

Bryan had asked his sister about Tatania's expectancy that evening. It was odd. That very day Tatania's attitude had visibly changed. Now that everyone knew she was going to be a mother, she seemed to be acting like she was entitled to anything she wanted (more than usual, that is). The Tower Cat was currently on Bryan's bed, rubbing against his side like he was _supposed_ to be petting her. Which he wasn't.

"So what now?" Bryan tried to ignore Tatania.

"Not a lot we can do. The kittens will be born and when they're old enough we'll find them new homes. But-.

"But what will those kittens be like." Bryan finished. "She's smarter than the average cat as it is."

"I've thought about that too. From the womb on up the kittens will be surrounded by magic. Then the two months until they're fully weened and ready to be adopted."

"Maybe it will fade if they grow up and spend the rest of their lives away from magic."

"Maybe. But I think I'll need to be careful about who the babies get adopted by."

"Why?"

"In case the magic doesn't fade. Can you imagine if we leave a kitten in a basket on some average Joe's doorstep and it displays evidence of being touched by magic?"

"Good point. Let's hope it's a small litter."

* * *

 _An unmeasured amount of time later_

* * *

"Are you sure we can't keep one? Or two? Or all of them?"

Kairi loved to snuggle and cuddle the fluffy babies. The whole litter was very used to being handled and would be great lap cats.

Tatania gave birth in Rachel and Bryan's room at the end of Rachel's bed in a box lined with a puffy fluffy blanket. It was a litter of five; three girls and two boys. Two were short-hairs. One girl, one boy. The girl was dark gray with black stripes and white toes on her back left foot. She'd been named Sassy. Right off the bat she took after her mom in attitude. The boy was the only solid black kitty in the litter. The rest took after their mom; black and white long-hairs. Kairi was currently cuddling the only other boy. He had black front feet, white stockings on his back legs, tipped ears and tail with a big blotch on his chest. He was called Akira.

"Nobody here is becoming like a crazy cat lady." Lea said. But he wasn't immune to the kitty cuteness either. One of the little girls sat on his shoulder, trying to reach back and swat at the points of his hair. This sister looked like someone took a wide paintbrush and stroked her down from just under her nose to her belly with white paint. She was Honey Bun. Lea would periodically give her tail a little tug and she'd whip around to see what the heck had just happened.

Sora was playing with the solid black boy and the last girl. She was all black except for perfect white mittens on all four feet and a little spot under her eye, like a diva's beauty mark. That spot gave her the name, Pearl. Sassy was trying to scale a chair so she could join her mother on the table.

"As much as I'd love to, they're going to have to go to their forever homes soon." Rachel said.

She picked up Sassy and sat on the table, cuddling the kitten under her chin. Tatania only looked over for just a second to make sure her daughter was all right before going back to observing the rest of her family and human subjects.

"Have you got any ideas where they can go?" Riku scooped up Pearl. Sora gave him a pouty scowl for taking his playmate away.

"We've got a few ideas." Kairi said.

"'We'?" Lea asked.

"Me and Kairi." Rachel said.

The big day came a few days later. The kittens would need a new home. They were plenty old enough and Master Yen Sid didn't want his Tower overrun with cats. Rachel and Kairi scooped up all the kittens in a travel basket and boarded the Sky King to take them to other worlds. There were some places that didn't even make the list of where the kittens might find a good home; Neverland, for example. Lost boys take care of a pet the way it should be cared for? That wasn't a risk they were willing to take. Sherwood Forest was rejected too. Everyone there was an animal. Paradise Jungle? Deep Jungle? Nope to either. No place for a housecat. Kairi suggested the other Princesses of Heart.

This idea got things off to a great start. Belle accepted sweet little Honey Bun. She would be a lovely addition to a big castle, wandering the big halls like how her mother wandered the Mysterious Tower. Aurora couldn't say no to handsome Akira either. Cinderella couldn't take any of the kittens, her palace home already had a snooty castle cat named Pom Pom. And she wasn't exactly big sister material. Pearl actually caught the eye of Aerith back in Radiant Garden. And Sassy found a home back on the Destiny Island with a neighbor girl Kairi grew up with. The friend came from a fishing family so no doubt Sassy would see plenty of the high-seas to make sure she got the best fish scraps as well as keep the boats clear of rodent stowaways.

That left the last boy in need of a home. The black cat with bright green eyes, whose name was Cosmic, was the last kitten in the basket without a place to go.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Kairi scratched the little head. All the days traveling left the kitten exhausted.

"Not sure. Well-wait. There's one more place we haven't tried. I can't believe I didn't think of this before."

"Of course I'll take him!"

Anna love-attacked the little kitty as soon as she was told he needed a home. That was a lot easier than either Rachel or Kairi could have hoped for.

"He's so cute! I've never had a pet before. This will be great. It's not like we don't have the room for him. He'll always know nothing but lots of love and he'll always have a full tummy and a warm bed and-OH!"

Anna cut herself off with a loving snuggle to her new pet.

"Anna? What's all the squealing about?" Elsa came in from outside the hall. "Oh! Rachel! Hello, Kairi."

"Elsa! Look! Look what Rachel gave me!"

Anna presented the kitten to her sister.

"Oh my, isn't he sweet!"

"I know, right! He'll sleep at the end of my bed. Oh! Where's Olaf? I'm sure the two of them will be great friends. And Kristoff! I have to show him! Here! He's so precious!" Anna passed the baby off her sister. "Thank you!" Anna gave a backbreaking hug to both Rachel and Kairi. "I have a new pet! I have a new pet," Anna chanted.

"And to think, we were worried we wouldn't find anyone to take him," Kairi said quietly to Rachel. It was fun to watch friends wig out over a cute animal.

"Yeah, little Cosmic is going to have a great home here."

One thing was for certain, nowhere had a little black cat ever been so lucky.


	44. The Start

"I can't believe this. How's this? How's this look?"

Not long after the events of the double date dare, a fact was brought into sharp focus for Riku. He and Rachel had been together for some time now as a couple but he had never actually taken her on a true, actual and official date. Yeah, they'd had their special times alone together, but togetherness wasn't a date. Snuggling on a windowsill, exploring the worlds in Rachel's book or walking through the gardens of the Tower holding hands…all lots of fun and very special but still not 'going out'. This realization made him feel like a Class A loser and the worlds' suckiest boyfriend. Yes, they had lots of important business to take care of and prepare for, but that didn't make him feel any better. That and he was tying his brain in a knot trying to think what Rachel was thinking about the whole thing. Had she noticed? Was she ok with it? Or had she been waiting for him to ask? Would she be disappointed that it took him this long?

So finally he did. And now he was nervous as all get out. Why though? Sure, it _was_ a _first_ date for him, but it wasn't like a blind date or anything. He knew Rachel well and wanted to do something special for her. Was he just worried she wouldn't like it but be too polite to say so? Worried she might have certain expectations for their first date and he wouldn't be able to meet them? The nerves just didn't make any sense.

Sora was no help. He'd never seen Riku act that way before and watched the whole thing with curious interest. Riku had to swat Sora away at one point for watching him like a nature buff observing a rare bird performing an undocumented behavior. Bryan just wanted it to be over so Riku would stop fussing about it. Lea thought it was funny.

"Okay, do I look alright?" Riku asked for the third time without really thinking about how he'd already repeated himself.

Riku had decided to take Rachel to the Destiny Islands. On a neighboring island a town was in the middle of its annual carnival. It was the biggest event on that island and he thought it just the kind of thing she'd have fun at. And the preparation for leaving gave him a better appreciation that the stereotypes of girls taking forever to prepare for a date may not be stereotypes at all or restricted to girls. He felt he should put a bit more into his appearance for this but at the same time didn't want to overdo it. After all, you don't need to be church-nice to go to a fair. But he didn't want to look so casual she might wonder if he wasn't taking this seriously. So he settled for the best jeans he owned, a dark blue cover-shirt with pale yellow and orange tropical fish printed along the bottom over a black tank top. His current dilemma was wondering if he should button the shirt or not.

"Open," Bryan said, apparently reading his expression correctly. "Gives it kind've a casual yet devil-may-care look."

"Okay," Riku said, pacing a bit and going over things one more time in his head.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Lea exclaimed. He'd been snickering to himself over Riku's current crisis but it was starting to get pathetic. "Will you relax? People on death row don't get his nervous."

But the pacing didn't stop. Riku made a noncommittal sound that suggested he heard Lea talking but didn't fully register what he said. Riku ran his fingers through his hair a few times then ran a hand down the side of his shirt, perhaps reconsidering the decision to leave it unbuttoned.

Lea rolled his eyes. "Will you _give it a rest_ already? You'll both have a lot of fun. Everything will be fine. You look great. In fact, if you looked any better, I'd go out with you myself…a _gain_. Now will you just go? What will it look like if she's ready to go before you are? A man doesn't leave his girl waiting."

That seemed to snap Riku out of wherever his mind was. From there he left the room, presumably to where he agreed to have Rachel meet him. Once he was gone, the remaining three gathered for a word exchange.

" _Sooo_ , their _first_ date?" Lea said.

"I've never been to that carnival." Sora said. "But I've only ever heard good things about it. I think he's made a good choice."

"She'll like it. She's just a big kid anyway." Bryan told him.

Lea looked slyly between the two of them. It was that kind of look where you're silently begging someone to ask you what you're thinking. His smirk got what he was waiting for.

"What are you looking like that for?"

Lea looked between each of them in turn. "You probably want to keep an eye on Riku to make sure he doesn't do much more than hold her hand right?" He asked Bryan, who shrugged but also nodded. "And you've never had the chance to go to that carnival, right?" He asked Sora, who also nodded. "Well who says you can't go? It's a fair right? Not exactly a private party. And you wouldn't be doing your duty as a brother to make sure nothing dishonorable happens to your sister, right?"

They all knew Riku was very unlikely to ever do anything like that or would Rachel put up with it but Bryan understood what Lea was getting at. As did Sora.

"Are you suggesting we tail them?"

"Oh? Did I _say_ that?"

* * *

"I can't believe you three would suggest such a thing!"

Before planning how they would get the fair and snoop around without being noticed, Sora, Bryan and Lea went to Kairi to invite her to the sneakery.

"You're really thinking about stalking your friends on their first date?"

"Well when you say it like that."

"C'mon, like you're not curious what they'll be up to."

"I never said I wasn't curious. But what if it was you? Would you like it if your friends tailed you on your first date?"

"I'll think about that once I have one."

"So are you coming with us?"

"Well, y-yeah I guess. But remember! I come under extreme protest. Especially if we get caught."

"How can you come willingly under extreme protest?"

* * *

Riku paced at the bottom of the Tower steps by the front door, mentally kicking himself for being such an idiot. Well, maybe that wasn't what he was but the proper word just refused to come to him. He was nervous and feeling so stupid for feeling that way. He knew Rachel. He knew a lot of the things she liked and was certain she would enjoy the fair. They knew each other well. It wasn't like he was running blind. Yet at the same time he was feeling a nagging itch to impress her on this date. Was it because he wanted to make sure absolutely everything was fun and perfect and awesome? Or was it just a guy thing to impress his girl? Both seemed likely.

Hearing a soft click on the stairs made his insides freeze, both with 'oh crap this-is-it' panic and the feeling of knowing it was her. He was always glad to see her. And this time paralyzed him in awe.

Rachel must have flown down the stairs, that's how she could be so close and he hadn't heard anything. She was in the sea-glass blue and green dress Elsa had made for her on her birthday. Her open-toed sandals were cream colored with sparklies on the sides. Now that he thought about it, Riku was pretty sure he'd never seen her feet so bare before. Stupid detail but it crossed his mind all the same. She carried a small purse of the same cream across her shoulder with a long macramé strap. When she took a step down the stairs he saw a sparkle around her foot. She was wearing a silver ankle bracelet on but he couldn't tell what the charms on it were. Her hair was down. Dang he liked that. Two strands of hair had been braided above her ears and brought together at the back of her head, where it was clipped together with a fabric rose, also cream colored. Around her neck was the little glass Paopu charm.

Only when she swished her dress to show it off did it snap him out of staring. Riku met her at the bottom of the stairs and held out his hand.

"Ready?" He asked smiling, all nervousness and doubt melting away. He wasn't sure he could trust his voice to compliment how she looked.

Rachel smiled. "Let's go."


	45. The Middle

"This! Isn't! _Working_!" Lea growled.

"If we keep on like this one of them is going to spot us!"

"The key is _not_ to look conspicuous."

"We're not!"

"We kinda are."

"Think we should just back off and enjoy the fair?"

"No way!"

"But we can't even get close enough to hear what they're saying!"

"Okay," Lea admitted. "Maybe not one of my most well-conceived ideas. Even with all these people they could notice us if we're not more careful."

"Oh ya think? Considering you're a _freakin' Maypole_!" Bryan hissed.

"It's not my fault I'm tall!"

"The second they see the red porcupine they'll know we're all here. You'll give us all away."

"Another jab about my hair…"

"There has to be an easier way to do this."

"Should we split up? It would be harder to pick us out of a crowd signally than as a group."

"That might work. But we'd have to reconvene a lot and pool what our spying has uncovered."

"Although…" Bryan paused thoughtfully.

"Got an idea?" Sora asked.

"They'll be able to pick out us easily in a crowd, right? Lea by his height, Sora's spiky hair…so we become something they won't easily recognize." Bryan said with a grin. He zipped behind a game cart and the others followed. "Like this."

A passerby happened to see a half of a puff of sparkly smoke from behind a one of the game stalls. Odd sort of effect coming from the ring toss. But the only thing that happened was four little birds zoomed overhead and perched in a neat line on a bright banner strung between two stalls. There wasn't a smoky smell or anything like an electrical short so it couldn't be too bad. Must've set something off by accident and it scared them away.

* * *

The fair was incredible.

There was plenty of hustle and bustle but not the chaotic kind. The sun shone brightly but there was a little breeze and big clouds to keep the day from being too hot. On one side of the fairgrounds were animal barns, people showing off their prize pigs and participating in showmanship competitions for llamas, rabbits, goats, chickens and the highland cows that were only native to the next island over. The next cluster of buildings were for artistic exhibits and vendors selling their wares. Beyond that, the fair itself. Game and food stalls were lined up throughout the grounds, woven between the rides. Sounds of fun wafted through the air alongside the decadent aroma of deep-fried goodness. Because of its size, the rides and buildings were kept up all year. The week before the carnival was dedicated to maintenance and decorating. And now the fair was in full swing.

The second they arrived, Riku knew he never had anything to worry about. There was no way it was possible to fake that kind of smile. She held him by the arm and bounced a little excitedly.

"So where do we go first?"

Riku touched her hand on his arm and smiled. "Pick a direction. That's where we'll go."

* * *

"Ok, guys. We're birds now. Sora and I especially will look ordinary as we're both brown birds. Just like sparrows. Too common for anyone to pay much attention to so we have that in our favor. So Sora and I will stick together. Kairi, go with Lea. Your colors will make you look like the female of whatever Lea is supposed to be. Nobody will look twice at a bird and his mate. So everybody, act like birds. Fluff those feathers. Preen those wings. Tweet those songs. Bathe in puddles. Eat peanuts off the ground. The more ordinary we act the less likely they'll look at us twice since they know our bird forms."

"And if they know it's us we'll be stuffed and used as morbid decorations for old lady hats."

"Right."

"Okay, so split up and act birdish." Kairi said. "Got it."

"And be sure to disappear periodically." Bryan said. "They might notice if they're always being tailed by birds."

"Kay team, let's do this."

"Still, if we get caught, I get to say this was all your idea and you made me come."

"Willingly under extreme protest, we know."

* * *

Rachel and Riku went from one end of the fair to the other, starting from the animal barns and going out from there. They mostly linked fingers and walked through the barns, only stopping to pat a curious or friendly horse or lamb on the nose. In one of the showmanship rings, young kids, no more than twelve, were running their ponies through an obstacle course. For the most part, the kids worked very well with their ponies. Apart from one pony not wanting to get its feet wet in a shallow trench full of water or another that didn't realize taking a half-step up to walk across a plank of wood wasn't the world's most impossible task all the contenders and their ponies did well.

Next were the exhibit buildings full of all imaginable arts and crafts. Some were obviously made by the hands of a child while others were crafted were perfection. There were all kinds of things lining the exhibit building walls. Display cases showed baked goods that had been judged days ago. Quilts and other sewn projects were hung on the walls. Large boards had been lined up for photography. One corner of the building was dedicated to horticulture alone. Some of the cut flower arrangements had started to wilt. The rest of the building sported rows and rows of miscellaneous crafts. There were sculptures of wood, soap, metal and clay. There were books of short stories or scrapbook pages. There was a wall of paintings of all mediums. Shimmering ribbons of all sizes accompanied the exhibits. Riku could sense this was something Rachel would love to do if she could. Beyond the exhibit buildings were long, colorful alleys of craft vendors.

The whole area was an explosion of color. Everyone had their own stall for their various wares, but it was a community effort to keep the public shaded. Long, bright and vibrant tarps of cloth or silk were strewn hither and yon, connected by poles from each vendor. It was like being beneath a living rainbow. The island breeze rippled the tarps. Most of them were lightweight and silky so the sun shone right through them, casting pale carpets of color on the ground.

Riku was certain by the end of the day he would have bruises on his arm for every time Rachel gave him a squeeze when she saw something exciting. They had barely begun their day and already her smiles were numerous and outshining the island sun. Vendors and craftsman shouted to get the attention of onlookers. Every conceivable craft or collectible could be found somewhere amidst the hundred tables and billowing tarps. Being very creative herself, Rachel was thrilled to see all the fine wares of the fair market. Some had exquisite, glittering works of art; others were as simple as a lightly-used book stall. A man had an easel set up and was offering caricatures next to an older woman who made cute sculptures out of rocks and seashells. Riku was of the mentality that anything Rachel wanted he'd let her have. But she was a girl who could refrain from pretties if she knew didn't really need it (unless it was really, _really_ cool).

"Oh, shiny!"

Or if it was something that sparkled then her resolve was greatly weakened.

Rachel stopped at a stall full of all sorts of metal crafted jewelry. Everything was heavily decorated with crystals and cut stones. Nothing precious like _real_ gemstones or anything but the tables were like looking down into a jar of glitter. The stones had to be at least cut glass. There was no way you could get plastic to shine that much.

"See anything you like?" Riku asked.

"Oh yes."

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Then pick whatever you want."

"Ha-ah!" The vendor chuckled. "A good gentleman always does well to spoil his lady. Anything that particularly strikes your interest, miss?"

That question was like giving someone a stack of their most beloved books or movies and asking them which one, and only one was their favorite. So Riku stood close over her shoulder as Rachel looked at all the shinies. Eventually they parted the stall with a silver headband with flowers and leaves similar blues and greens as Rachel's dress. Thinking she might be holding back on things she really wanted so not to sound greedy, Riku made sure to insist that it was no trouble to get her anything she liked. But Rachel had seen enough and insisted that although she liked a lot of the things in the market, she hadn't seen anything she couldn't live without.

After that they moved on to the heart of the fair.

* * *

"See anything?" Kairi asked.

"Not through all those tarps." Lea said.

"Did he buy her something?"

"I think so."

"What is it?"

"Didn't I just say I couldn't see? Just how close do you think we dare get before somebody notices we're not exactly native birds?"

"Where are they going now?"

"I think they're leaving the market."

* * *

"So are we riding any rides?"

"If you want to."

"Oh c'mon!" Rachel tugged on Riku's arm a little. "I don't want this to be all about me. I want you to have fun too."

"You haven't stopped smiling, what else do I need?"

* * *

"I cannot believe he just said that!" Sora tweeted excitedly as he hopped up and down on a post.

"SHHHH! They can still hear us speaking English!"

"I didn't know Riku could be so romantic." Sora said a bit more quietly. "This is exciting!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Bryan said. He didn't let it show, but he was impressed that Riku at least knew how to treat his sister right.

"Oh! Oh! They're getting armbands for the rides!"

"Yes! I see that now _**shush**_!"

"This should be funny, seeing Riku on carnival rides."

"There isn't a tunnel of love or anything like that here?"

"I don't know."

"There better not be. Otherwise I'm swooping in and pecking at his knuckles until they bleed. Who knows where hands go in the dark."

"Over-protective, much?"


	46. The Ending

"Awwwww!" Kairi cooed from her hiding place atop a food stall. "That is so sweet!"

"I didn't think Riku could be such a gentleman."

"What do you mean? Of course he could!" Kairi defended. Although she too thought it was strange and a little out of character to actually witness with her own eyes her childhood friend being such a sweetheart.

Rachel and Riku had just gotten off a magnificent carousel. It was one of, if not the most well-kept ride at the fair and by far the most popular. The golden poles glittered like something worthy of a kings royal treasury. And the carousel had much more than just elegant horses. If not a horse, they were mostly sea creatures with a few exceptions like a tropical bird, llama, boar, caterpillar and triceratops. All were elegantly decorated like they were royal steeds (with the exception of the caterpillar), complete with fine saddles, braided bridles and sash-like reins. The widest strip alongside each side of the saddle was delicately painted with different scenes. Any mount with similar saddle designs had scenes of swans on lily-covered lakes, elegant ladies carrying parasols through pastures, bunnies in flower fields or bright birds soaring across the vibrant sky, among many others. Several of the tiny paintings on the steeds matched the big paintings on the upper panels of the carousel.

Rachel wanted to ride on the shocking neon-aqua seahorse so Riku took the rooster right beside it. She would've had a hard time getting up in her dress so Riku was the perfect gentleman and helped her up to ride side-saddle. When the ride was over, the seahorse had ended up at its highest point. The only way Rachel could have gotten down was to jump and risk her dress catching on something. It was unlikely she wouldn't land so indelicately she'd slip off her sandal and hurt an ankle. But Riku knew a thing or two about the debilitating pain that came from twisting an ankle from slipping out of a sandal. So he helped her get down too.

When Rachel slid off, they were standing very close. For a second they just stood there smiling at one another. They were snapped back from the glorious world which was in each others eyes when a curly-haired blonde three-year-old two rows behind them tugged at her fathers' sleeve and excitedly (loudly) whispered the following:

"Daddy! Daddy! He helped the pwincess get down! He helped the pwincess get down! She's a pwincess! I saw her sparkly crown, I _saw_ it!"

* * *

"This is so cute! I can't stand it!"

"I'm right next to you! Stop _squealing_!"

"Sorry!"

Bryan and Sora also witnessed the carousel scene. Sora wigged out it was so precious. He hopped back and forth across the edge of a food stand roof they had perched on. They'd have to find Lea and Kairi and report what they'd seen in case they hadn't been watching.

* * *

After a few rides, a break for lunch and a sweet drink (like no kidding, there was a guy at a drink stand that made a lemonade so sweet it was like drinking candy), Rachel and Riku checked out the games on the midway. Already he had won her a giant stuffed alligator at the test-your-strength game and a little black and orange goldfish from the ring toss she affectionately named Mr. Scales.

"Never seen anything like that before," A game vendor said. "A spectacular win. Which prize would you like?"

"Hmmm, that one!"

Riku had completely demolished enough bottle towers to let Rachel have her pick of the highest prizes for that game booth. Yeah, all carnival games had a tendency _not_ to be in the players favor, but a lifetime of playing swordfights and years of wielding a Keyblade made for a very strong arm. Put that together with great aim, every toss hit its target true. The gentleman pulled a stuffed animal from its shelf, handed it to Rachel and bid them a good day.

"Oh," Rachel cooed, snuggling her head against Riku's shoulder. "The things you do for little me."

"And there's something you can do for me,"

"Oh?"

"Sew this things mouth shut,"

With her hands full of her new white and gray stuffed owl (the goldfish and its little bowl had been covertly put into her purse, which had been enchanted to hold more than it looked like it could) Riku carried the alligator of his shoulder like it was a big sack of flour (yeah, the thing was easily four feet long). Rachel giggled. The bright green gator had a big gaping mouth with 'I Wuv You' stitched on its neon pink tongue. But if one thing could be said for the fair prizes, they were of excellent quality. Since the fair was only in operation for a week, lots of people from surrounding islands donated time and materials to creating unique and fun prizes. So while the game setup itself might not always be fair, it wasn't like spending fifty or more munny on an item that was hardly fit to be a dog toy.

Before Rachel could respond, the entire carnival sparkled with magical lights. The day had drifted away before they really knew what time it was. Simultaneously throughout the entire fairground the blinking rainbow lights of rides, games and food vendors lit up. It wouldn't be long before the sunlight faded completely, making carnival light up even brighter. In fact, it would be hard to tell it was nighttime at all.

"Is there anything else you'd like to do?" Riku asked her. If the day was getting that late then it was probably getting to be a good time to wrap it up soon and go home.

"Hmmm, well," Rachel looked around. The fair had calmed down considerably in the last half hour as families were making their way home for dinner with worn out children. "I've always wanted to ride a ferris wheel."

"Then that's what we'll do."

* * *

"Think we should head back now? Spying is exhausting." Sora stretched his wings and rolled his neck side to side.

"Probably best," Kairi said. "We'd be less likely to arouse suspicions if we're already fully engaged in something back at the tower."

"Be sure to practice your surprised face." Bryan told Kairi. "Rachel is more likely to tell you about what happened today than Riku is to tell us. If you say anything or act suspiciously when she's telling you all about today she'll know we tagged along."

Kairi nodded, completely understanding the necessity of playing it cool. So the little flock made their exit, returned to their true forms and headed back to the Tower. They'd seen Rachel and Riku head across the fairground in the direction of the ferris wheel near the pier but decided they'd let them have that to themselves.

* * *

"Excuse me, may I put this here while we ride?"

"Of course, go right ahead."

It wasn't exactly the most practical (or safe) idea to try and squeeze the stuffed gator into the cart so Rachel asked the operator if she could leave it with him by the front gate. The riding carts on the wheel could have easily fit four people with still enough space to not be too crowded. The carts were like being in a bowl. The top covering was pointed like a circus tent. All the carts were different shades of blue but were individually decorated with different, colorful shapes like squares, bubbles or zigzags. Rachel did keep the owl with her. It wasn't big enough to be considered a safety hazard in a cart that size so the operator let her hold onto it.

The view of the fair was incredible. Looking down on all the bright, dancing lights was a very special sight. Not only that, the ferris wheel was the closest to the pier by the water. The lights of the massive wheel reflected almost perfectly in the calm night sea. Everything was beautiful no matter which way you looked, and for Riku, that certainly didn't exclude looking right beside him. By the time the ride would have ended, there wasn't anyone else in line for another ride. The operator let the wheel come around slowly and asked the few passengers if they wanted to get off before sending the ride along slowly again for several more minutes.

Rachel hugged her owl and snuggled into Riku.

"This has been such a great day," She said with a smile in her voice.

Riku put his arm around her shoulder so she could cuddle in closer. "I'm glad," He'd been watching the way she smiled when the ferris wheel started to turn.

She giggled quietly and was silent. Riku liked watching the lighted world go by below with her, warm and happy at his side.

Then…Riku realized something. How had he not seen this right off the bat? As soon as that game vendor handed Rachel her prize…

Butterflies danced a crowded tango in his stomach. That stuffed owl…now he remembered why it looked familiar. Rachel had only just gotten it, but Riku had seen it before. He recognized it from almost a year earlier. His very first Christmas with Rachel…she'd given him a very special magic mirror. A mirror that showed possible answers to hypothetical questions. The very first time he'd used it, he saw that owl. Only then, it didn't belong to Rachel. Now it was hers, but later it could belong to a little boy with blue eyes laced with amber flecks.

Riku tried to act calm and normal although every muscle in his torso had gone tense. Was this the first step in that one prediction becoming a reality? Yeah, sure, there was _**a lot**_ that could change between now and the scene the mirror had shown him. Yeah, every time he'd asked the mirror the same question, he'd gotten dramatically different answers. Maybe that scene would never come to pass. Maybe that owl would be no more than a reminder of a fun first date then live a life as little more than a dust collector. There were way too many factors both foreseen and unforeseen to know or provide any credibility to the mirror's answer. After all, it only answered what-if questions with possible, might-might not ever happen answers. It showed possibilities, it didn't predict the future. Still, Riku was still fixated on the possibility that it _might_ be the corner piece to a much bigger puzzle.

"You okay?"

"What?"

"I don't know, you just kinda…zoned for a second. Hope I'm not being boring."

" _You_? Boring? No, I'm just taking it all in."

It was amazing no matter how cuddly Rachel got there always seemed to be a way where she could snuggle in closer.

People were starting to disembark from the ride. For a moment, Rachel and Riku were stopped near the top of the wheel. The fair, the lights and the calm sea could all be seen at the same time. After this ride was over it would be time to head home. But it's often in the moments when something comes to an end that you wish time would hold off so those last moments can go on forever. Riku wondered if Rachel was wishing the same thing. Rachel then put her stuffed owl on the floor and curled up tightly by his side.

"Thank you," She said quietly. "I doubt even I could have written a better day. I had so much fun with you today."

Riku kissed the top of her head. He made her happy. That was all he needed to know. And that in turn made him happy. A few seconds into the snuggle, Riku absentmindedly touched the necklace charm beneath his shirt and made a well-would-you-look-at-that sort of curious 'heh' noise.

"What're you thinking?"

"I just thought about an unintended connection between your Paopu charm and the charm you gave me."

"Oh? Tell me."

"This," Riku gently tapped the yellow glass charm around her neck. "Is a symbol of the Paopu we shared and what it means. Regardless of the reason, we will always be connected. And this," Riku pulled out the charm from under his shirt. "You said the shape is an ancient rune for Light. The inscription, is a reminder." He turned it over. The light of the ferris wheel highlighted the fine script that read, _Find The Crack_ , "When in dark places, never stop looking for the Light. Find the crack, that's how the Light gets in. That's what you said when you gave this to me. But now, when I find myself in dark places, when I search for the crack, I'll really be looking for you. Because now, after all you've done, _you_ are my Light."

Rachel sat up straighter and looked at him for several long seconds. Riku smiled at the way her eyes glistened. Her expression was hard to describe. There was a smile in her eyes even though she was too shocked and awed to show it on her face. But he could see how happy his words made her. The sincerity was what made her look like she were about to cry. But he didn't give her the chance. Riku ran two fingers along her jawline and when he reached her chin, he tilted her head up and kissed her before she could say anything. Neither of them could feel the ferris wheel start to wind its way down. He pulled way and gently nuzzled his forehead against hers. Their first date ended with the whispered words,

"I love you, my little star."


	47. Lea

Lea had never before had to make such hasty yet covert retreats as he did twice in the last ten minutes.

He'd just been wandering through the Tower, minding his own business when he walked in on two tender scenes that he felt the need to quickly back out of. The first was while going through a room where he found Sora and Kairi all snuggled up in a windowsill. Even though it was fun to tease the couples, Lea wasn't so crass to just interrupt a sweet moment when he saw one. Thankfully they hadn't seen him so he was able to make a getaway and neither Sora or Kairi were the wiser.

So he left; only to run across Riku and Rachel doing the same thing a few hallways away. They were just standing quietly at a corner, embracing as close together as two people physically could. As soon as Lea recognized the arms behind Riku's back were not his own, Lea made a complete turn-around and went back down the hallway he came from.

Geesh, the snuggle bug must've bitten them hard. Why couldn't he have someone to cozy up to? Sora and Riku had it easy. Kairi was a childhood friend and Rachel was already a Keyblade Master so their paths were of course going to cross. And apparently on that path the Love Bug was there in the middle for the four of them to trip over and land in each other's arms. Just how tough was it going to be to find that special someone when Destiny chose you for the life of a key bearer? And of course there was, like, a _zero_ percent chance that another heart worthy of being a warrior of Light would join the team who just happened to be roughly his age, type _and_ liked him back. Yeah, like _that_ wasn't asking too much. Besides, even if that were to happen, Fate would probably decide to be cruel and she'd end up falling for Bryan instead.

Oh, and speak of the devil and he shall appear. Walking down the hall with his fire wolf was none other than Bryan. He wasn't really looking where he was going. The young Master had something that looked like a thick notepad in one hand he was reading and in the oth-HEY! Where'd he get the cookie?! They met in the middle, only then did Bryan seem to notice he wasn't alone.

"Oh, hi,"

Seger, as usual, had a mixed look and posture of not finding Lea worth the energy it took to angle his eyes up to see him and a silent plea to Bryan to leave the idiot and keep going.

"Hey," Lea answered.

"What's goin' on? Hey-mmph!"

Before Bryan really knew what hit him, Lea had snapped him up in an awkward hug. Bryan had gone extremely stiff, the kind of stiff you see in horror films when the victim hears the psychopath just outside the door. Never before had his spine been so straight. He wasn't much of a hugger anyway and this was really out of the blue.

"Hey! What're you doing?"

"Everybody else is off hugging."

"Yeah? _So_?"

"I'm feeling left out."

"And why does your emotional crisis have to involve me?"

"You're the first person I found. And I'm not hugging the old guy."

"Will you let go of me?"

"In a second. The feelings of need and neglect are ebbing away. *sigh* Am I forever destined to be a third-wheel on the wagon if Life?"

Bryan grunted, annoyed. He wasn't about to play therapist. "Done yet?" He asked after a minute.

"Yes."

"Glad to be your rock in this time of emotional upheaval." He said dryly (with an underlying tone to never, _ever_ do that again).

The whole time Seger was glaring at Lea with the purest look of disgust that they were all breathing the same air.

* * *

Sora, Riku, Kairi and Bryan mulled about in an all-purpose room at the Tower. It never ceased to amaze them (not so much Bryan, at this point he just rolled with it) just how endless the Mysterious Tower seemed despite how skinny it looked from the outside and how well they thought they knew its halls. At first it was just Riku and Bryan talking. Then Sora and Kairi found them after going a few rounds of all-magic sparring in the training hall. Kairi had suggested they find Rachel and Lea and think of something to do together. But shortly after the suggestion had been made, the foursome heard voices they correctly guessed to be Rachel and Lea in the middle of a bicker of some sort. They came into a room that actually adjoined to the one Sora and the others were in without realizing it. The door was just an archway down the wall with an only moderate sound-proofing spell around the frame. So they listened quietly to the spat as it progressed. This is where they started listening.

"Because I out-rank you, that's why!"

"Yeah, maybe. But I still got height and you don't."

"And I still got eyebrows and you don't."

"Now that was low, and I'll get you for it."

"Oh yeah? Come and get me! I dare ya! Come too close and I'll become your worst nightmare!"

"You'll become a sarcastic rabbit?"

"I shall-! Wait-what?"

"My worst nightmare. It talks to me."

"For real?"

"Yeah. If you become a long-eared rabbit with a checkered beret, loose tie, a huge cigar and address me with 'Sup idgit' I will shamelessly run from the room screaming like a little girl."

"Um…were you by any chance traumatized as a kid? Suffered a head injury? History of mental illness in the family? Of all the things to be horrifically afraid of, _that's_ it?"

"Ha ha. So you claim your worst nightmare is more logical?"

"Yeah."

"Oh? Then what is it? What's _your_ worst nightmare?"

"Becoming your mirror."

" _Excuse me?"_

"All the horrors I would never be able to unsee…*shudder* You think I want to see what you look like with bedhead?"

"Okay. Now I'm offended. It's on now."

"Could you bla-eeek!"

There were sounds of lots of rapid footsteps as Lea chased her around the room. There were plenty of 'Wait a seconds' and 'Time out!' cries on Rachel's part but the scuffling sounds continued. It all ended with a big thump, Lea crying "Gotcha!" and Rachel following up with "AAAAGH! MY ORGANS!"

"You're not ticklish, are you?"

"If you try, I will not be held responsible for your injuries."

In the other room, Sora, Riku, Kairi and Bryan were exchanging odd glances.

"Guys," Kairi said to her friends. "I really don't think we should let those two play together anymore."

"Agreed." Sora and Riku said together.

Bryan shrugged. "They're fine. Unorthodox, absolutely, and a little weird but fine."

"Have you not just been listening?"

"It's the way they connect. You've never actually seen me and her scuffle before, have you?"

"Scuffle? Sure. You guys do it all the time." Sora pointed out. They kept their voices down so they were beneath the radar for the sound-proofing spell on the door.

"No, that's sparring, with Keyblades. I mean a rough-n-tumble scuffle."

"Like…wrestling?" Kairi asked confused.

"Kinda." Bryan told her. "As kids, I didn't like playing with dolls, she didn't like playing with trucks so we tussled. Our mom got on us all the time to stop fighting. But that was the way we bonded. I guess they found a similar way now that the prank war is over."

"You scuffled…as a way to play?" Riku confirmed.

"Still do, actually. You mean you and Sora never did?"

"We had swordfights."

"Wait, still do?" Kairi asked but didn't get answered.

"You had your way, we had ours and now they have theirs. Remember what I said the first time I met Lea? He and Rachel were going to be great friends."

"When'd you say that?" Sora tried to think.

"Remember when you left for a while after the first Mark of Mastery?" Riku reminded.

"Ah,"

"I think they've kinda've got a bit of a brother-sister relationship now." Bryan continued. "But I predicted that from the beginning so I don't mind sharing."

"A brother-sister relationship?" Sora mused aloud.

"Do you ever pay attention to anything?" Riku asked seriously but without malice. "The way their personalities mix, it's like she's like the little sister he never had."

Kairi sighed. "But that would still leave Bryan as the youngest." Bryan shrugged, not really caring either way. "But that would then make her a middle child." That made him grin.

* * *

One morning before breakfast, Lea and Rachel ended up in the same hallway going to the same place. They fell in pace with one another. The silence was broken with Rachel asking out of the blue,

"Lea,"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"How do you get your hair to look like that?"

Lea rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to bite this time. He hadn't forgotten about the straws. Or how his hair was frequently the target of lame jokes. Bryan's comment about the red porcupine still rang in his ears. "How do _you_ think?"

"Well, to me it looks like you wake up every morning and shoot yourself in the face with a paintball gun filled with hair gel. The force makes it go back, the gel makes it stay."

"Yep. Darn it all, you've discovered my secret." Lea said dryly.

"Yay! Do I get a prize?"

"No."

* * *

Riku sat on a bench that lined the main arena of the training hall. The solo exercises had been getting monotonous so he'd recently started a new regiment as per Master Yen Sid's instruction. These new routines and exercises were much more challenging and more befitting a Keyblade Master. And, as sometimes happens, frequent breaks were required until better adjusted to what was expected. During such a time when Riku stopped to catch his breath before continuing, he took a moment to admire and appreciate his current Keyblade.

It was the blade called Foundation; the blade formed from the key chain given to him by Master Yen Sid during his, Sora and Kairi's first Christmas with Rachel and Bryan. They had each been given a key chain that only bore the symbol for Kingdom Hearts. When not formed from an object imbued with emotion or magic, that is what key chains tended to look like until prompted to take on a more suitable form. The instruction for the gifted key chains was to speak their names to it. A name had power and would guarantee a Keyblade uniquely formed to suit them both in appearance and power. Rachel had Innocence. Bryan had Noble Strength. Sora had Keep Flying and Kairi had Oncoming Tide. Kairi's charm perplexed him a little. At the time the gift was given, Kairi wasn't a key bearer. Maybe it was a test on behalf of Master Yen Sid as well as a gift. If she didn't have what it took to master a Keyblade, maybe it wouldn't have transformed at all.

Riku's key chain was about the size of a large copper coin with a picturesque mountain range engraved on it. The handle wasn't anything too detailed. It looked like an elongated hexagon with several inter-connecting pieces around where it was meant to be held. The shaft was a wide column with a thin band spiraling up it. The shaft was blended greens where the spiraling band was more of burnt browns and golden colors. It made Riku think of harvested fields where the cut crop piled up in rows. The teeth of the blade were very interesting and different too. The spiraling band up the shaft twisted and curled around itself like a snail shell. Only the new spiral was made of interlocking triangular-ish pieces. It was kinda like the tail of an armored lizard. This piece was also a golden brown. Overall it was a very hefty Keyblade. Good thing it was a short to mid-range blade. That kind of bulk would have been difficult to handle if it had been any longer. No doubt it would be good for landing heavy, strong hits.

Suddenly Lea came out of nowhere with the swiftness of a tornado. Riku didn't have any time to jump in surprise before Lea slid in on the bench next to him. Slid in uncomfortably close. Like, no personal space at all.

"Heeeey! Riku, got a question."

"It couldn't have been answered with a few more inches between us?"

No kidding. Riku had almost been pushed off the bench. And Lea was leaning in too. Why did he have to make it so obvious he was trying to make a pest of himself?

"This will only take a minute,"

"Well that makes it all better."

"There are a few things I've been meaning to ask you."

"Just what I needed to hear."

"Have you got any cool ideas for how you're going to ask Rachel to marry you?"

Riku did a sharp body shiver; like he'd just gotten a jolt of electricity to his spine.

"Okay, I know that reaction has to be because it's me asking and not because you're appalled at the idea itself."

"Of course it's because it's _you_ asking. You're relentlessly nosy and it gets really old!"

"Aha!"

"Huh?"

"You didn't actually _deny_ that you've thought about it, implying that you _have_."

"What? How did you-? How do you get to a conclusion like that?"

"Any denial you make from this point on will just be seen as confirmation so you might as well fess up."

"It isn't any of your business if I've ever given it any thought at all, let alone if I have entertained specific ideas."

"Fair enough. But now the very important follow-up question."

"*Sigh* I'm not a bit surprised."

"How exactly do you plan to propose to her when you're still technically engaged to _me_?"

This time Riku jolted with disgust so violently he jumped off the bench. He shook his arms like he had a big spider on him.

"You are disgusting! _Why would you say that_?"

"Remember how our 'date' ended?"

" _Are you serious_!?"

"Technically I did ask the question and you _did_ say yes."

"That wasn't real!"

"How do you know what my intentions were?"

" _Excuse_ me?"

"I'm not at all offended that you don't wear the ring…I just thought if you're seriously entertaining the thought of proposing to Rachel one day you'd at least have a civil conversation with me about annulling our engagement first."

"Please tell me you are not serious."

Lea smirked like a delinquent fox.

"Lea!" Riku nearly shouted when he realized just how spectacularly he'd been had.

This was replied with peals of the most disgusting laughter Riku had ever heard.

"You kids are _way_ too easy." Lea said when he finally calmed down. "It almost takes the fun out of messing with all of you."

"Well knock it off."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen. So long as you guys leave the door wide open, you bet your anything that I will stride right on through like I own it."

Riku grunted, annoyed now and made to leave before he had a chance to talk himself into giving Lea a good whack upside the head.

"Oh, one more thing,"

"You have your affairs in order, right?"

"This you might find useful."

"At your own risk then."

"Riku, word of advice when you and Rachel have kids,"

"Here we go again." This wasn't going to stop, was it?

"When your little girls are about four until they're twelve, keep your hair as short as you can without looking stupid."

"…that's odd advice." Not like he was going to complain too much. At least the topic changed from the teasing. But as much as he wanted to stop talking about it, he was also furious at himself for being curious as to where this conversation could be headed.

"Trust me, if those demonic little angels can get a barrette to stay put, they'll have your head looking like a flowery disco ball before you know what hit you."

"Is this the voice of Experience I'm hearing?"

"Sadly, yes. Love those twins to pieces but when they got that gleam in their eyes I knew when to make my exit. Wasn't always successful at getting away though…Hey! Stop trying to picture me with a hair full of clips!"

"I can't help it. The scenario you just put out is too surreal to not try and make sense of."

* * *

Riku stopped to take a second to look out one of the tallest windows in the Mysterious Tower. Sometimes, amongst the intense training and thoughts distracted with the impending confrontation with Xehanort, it was easy to forget to take a breath and enjoy the little things. The view from atop the Tower for instance. The view beyond the land where the Tower stood was always so calm and tranquil. Even on days when it rained or clouds obscured the sun it was always peaceful to look at.

But he wasn't enjoying the serenity for long before Riku noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He leaned out the open window to confirm what he thought he saw. Shoes. Four of them. And the way they were hanging, somebody was obviously in them. One of them was obviously Sora. Looked like the other was probably Lea. Oh yeah, they did have that thing where they had long chats on the rooftops over a popsicle or two. He couldn't see anything of them except their feet due to how far the edge of the roof stuck out. And there would be no way they could possibly see him. There was a lull in the conversation so Riku broke it.

"Talking about anything good?" He asked.

"What was that?" Came Sora's voice.

"A voice…a little voice on the wind."

"Is that Riku?"

"Riku's voice but Riku's nowhere to be found. *Gasp!* It must be his spirit we're hearing!"

"*GASP!* B-but, but that would mean-!"

"Yes, between the last time we saw him and now, something awful must have happened to him."

"But…but that's not possible."

"I know, so young and full of life…"

"No, it can't be. How sad."

"Are you two for real?" This certainly took a turn Riku wasn't expecting.

"No, Sora. We can't be sad. His spirit is still here with us. If it hears our cries or sees our tears it may not move on to the place it needs to be."

"Yes, you're right. Although, there's nothing wrong with a moment of silence, right? To honor a fallen friend?"

"Absolutely."

"Even the smallest gestures speak volumes."

"Indeed. If his spirit knows that our hearts will heal from the grief of his passing, then it will not feel compelled to remain to comfort those it's leaving behind."

Then they were quiet.

Riku rolled his eyes. It was bad enough they were being ridiculous but on top of that there was a sliver of respect to be had at how seamlessly they went along with it. Still, that didn't stop Riku from closing and locking the window, personally hoping that was the only way they could get back in.

* * *

After a particularly savage run of the obstacle course, Lea reasoned it wouldn't be overstepping any boundaries to spend thirty minutes or so doing nothing but being lazy and relax. He'd been running the obstacle course solo whenever he could. He found it crazy and a bit frustrating that no matter how good he and the others seemed to be at the course, Rachel and Bryan always seemed to do better. Lea didn't get it. He was taller, had a longer reach and, especially over Rachel, was faster. That he didn't get either. For as hard as she could land a blow, cast flawless magic and had great footwork in battle, her speed was hardly legendary. Yeah, the wonder twins had been living and training at the Mysterious Tower for years but that still didn't seem an acceptable excuse for not one of four new trainees being able to beat their times.

So Lea directed himself to the all-purpose room. All he needed was a place to relax for a bit so it was well-stocked with a wide assortment of cushions, bean bags, sofas and armchairs so he could have his pick. So he just kinda sprawled out on the longest sofa and made an attempt to melt into it.

The next thing Lea knew he was getting shaken awake by some kind of sound. Shuffling? Yeah, somebody was coming in. Well, a short nap was better than nothing. But depending on who it was and what they wanted there would be a whole world of hurt coming down on the person with the gall to disturb his slumber.

"Oh! There he is!"

It was Kairi's voice. Okay, so that might not be so bad. And by the sound of it she was looking for him.

"Oh good!"

And apparently so was Rachel.

"Hi! Did we wake you?"

"Nope, I was faking it."

"Sorry."

"Can you help us?"

Lea pulled himself up on the arm of the couch. "What d'you need?" His voice was still lined with sleep.

"Could you do that thing where you heat up your hand? Like how you make popcorn on movie nights?" Kairi asked.

"I guess…" Odd question. Odder still was the container she held. Rachel was also holding something. "What do you need it for?"

"About three-fifty if you can go that specific."

Wasn't exactly the answer to the question he meant. Still, Lea pulled back his sleeve, held his arm away from the couch and concentrated the fire to his hand. Gradually his hand began to glow with orange light, making the skin look almost translucent so shadows of bone could be seen. Creepy, but still really cool. Lea could feel the heat but it didn't hurt.

"Okay, that's about what you asked for. Now wha-?"

Then, with lightning reflexes, Rachel spritzed his hand with something. One of the things she'd been holding was a little squirt bottle.

"…what was that?"

Before he really had any idea how to ask what the heck just happened or even to process it, Kairi whipped open her container and dropped something that was inside it in his hand. Lea stared at it for a long time as his mind was too shocked to immediately process what it was.

" _For real_!?"

The spraybottle Rachel had used was full of cooking oil. Kairi had dropped a dollop of cookie dough into his palm. Now they were both staring at it intently. Sure enough, and funnily enough, the dough was actually starting to bake. There was a pair of tiny tongs in Kairi's container too. She quickly picked up the dough ball and flipped it over. Slowly but surely the dough swelled and spread. The chocolate chips glistened as they started melting.

"You woke me up to use me as an improvised easy-bake oven?"

"Of course not. I've always you were cheap, not easy."

"Well now that's hitting below the belt, isn't it? On top of being an already really bad joke."

"Oh come on, like you don't think this is pretty cool, not even a little?"

"He has to. He'd've stopped if he really was that annoyed."

"Answer me this, how long have you two wanted to do this?"

Both girls shuffled a little guiltily.

"That's what I thought."

Kairi poked at the baking cookie with the tongs. "Ooh! I think it's done!"

Rachel whipped out a little paper plate and Kairi snatched the cookie up with the tongs and placed it on the plate.

"Are we done now?" Lea asked, a little irritated.

"Present cookie!" Kairi announced.

And Rachel did. With both hands she held out the plate to Lea.

"What's this?"

"You baked it. You deserve the first one for your help and gracious attitude about the helping."

Lea looked at the plate. Well that was certainly a nice tho-wait a second.

" _First_ one?"

Kairi looked guiltily at her container and tilted it forward to show there were still three more dough balls inside.

" _Really_?"

"Pwease?"

Lea huffed and rolled his eyes but he got more comfortable on the couch before holding out his hand again.

"Yay!"

"Thank you!"

Friends. You love 'em but they still have unparalleled talents for being annoying.


	48. Girl Time

Once in a while a girl just needs some time away for herself. Rachel and Kairi were of course no different. There were a lot of things going on at the Mysterious Tower and a girl sometimes has to let loose and be a girl. But a girl party of two just wasn't going to cut it. Especially at the Tower. They had to go somewhere else with at least one more person to have a proper girls night. And by girls night I mean full-on fifth grade slumber party kind of night. A night where being silly and childish and doing girly things was the name of the game. You forget how old you're supposed to be and get away from the eyes of those who might judge.

So, the girls went to Arendelle to see if Elsa and Anna also didn't want to act their ages. Unfortunately Elsa was away on royal business and wouldn't be back until the following evening. But that didn't change the plan. That just meant they'd have to come back and do it again some other day when Elsa was there. Anna (as one might expect) was all over the idea. It would be a princess party. Anna was the princess of Arendelle, Kairi was a princess of Heart and after Elsa's lovely speech at Rachel's birthday, Rachel could consider herself an official/unofficial royal sister of Arendelle. Princess power all the way. So, as soon as dinner was over, the evening belonged to the girls.

It was just like grade school. The girls got into their most comfortable pajamas early. It looked like every pillow and cushion in the castle was sprawled across the floor of Anna's room. Their only food for the evening would be a large plate of little chocolate pastries and fudge squares and a pitcher of cold milk. Each of them brought either a board or card game from their own world to play. Of course it gets a little difficult to play a board game when you have a kitten trying to play with the pieces.

Not that long ago Rachel's lovely black and white long-hair cat, Tatania became pregnant after being left unsupervised when brought to Arendelle to show the royal sisters (because it's always fun to show off our pets). Tatania gave birth to five kittens, one of whom was found a home back on the world of his mystery father. Anna was thrilled to give little Cosmic a permanent home. The solid black kitty was possibly the luckiest feline in Arendelle to be given the cushy life of a much-loved palace cat. And he was quickly filling a high quota of hugs and snuggles. But there was something fascinating about board pieces and he kept trying to demonstrate his skills as an ebony hunting master. No surprise. Boys of all ages (and species) try to show off for the girls.

The next phase of the evening was hair. Anna had a fun assortment of brushes and combs they made good use of. They lined up cross-legged and brush each other's hair. Kairi sat in front of them both so she got to brush Cosmic. Rachel was at the back of the line. After Kairi and Anna were finished they both did Rachel's hair; she did have the longest hair of the three of them. Once their lovely locks were brushed and polished with exquisite royal brushes, then came the makeover. Anna had all sorts of fun pins, clips and ribbons to play with. Anna and Kairi had their fun and silly dos then Anna and Kairi once again teamed up and put Rachel's hair in lots and lots of tiny braids.

With their hair done up all pretty, the girls moved on to nails. Rachel and Kairi pooled their collections of nail polishes and nail files. Anna was no stranger to having nails colored but the sparkly options in the bottles her friends brought was really something else. So the girls decided to get crazy and paint each nail on both the hands and feet a different color so they could use _all_ the colors. And that wasn't counting the options for sparkly overcoats.

Of course, all the while the three girls talked about everything under the sun. They laughed and joked and gossiped no differently than if this were middle school sleep over. Chocolate and peals of laughter kept them awake. They had passed the point a long time ago where Elsa and Anna knew the truth about the existence of other worlds since Rachel was obviously not from Arendelle. But they were trusted to keep a secret so when Anna asked questions Rachel and Kairi answered. And, it wouldn't be a proper slumber party if it hadn't, the subject eventually steered itself around to boys.

"So you really think he was going to propose to you?" Kairi leaned forward on her cushion, Cosmic cuddled tightly in her lap.

"I think this was the second time Kristoff tried to ask." Anna answered. "I mean, I might be reading too much into what I think might turn into a proposal, because, well, let's be honest, we're both crazy about each other and the time we've been together is plenty reasonable to propose, right?"

"Do you think he got cold feet or just got nervous and didn't want to mess up and sound like babbling idiot?" Rachel was putting on the final top coats of glitter polish on Anna's nails as they talked. Anna would finish Rachel's nails once her own were dry.

"I don't know. I mean, I hope it's the latter. And that would be okay. That just means that moment wasn't the perfect moment. But then again, hehehe, Kristoff getting all tongue-tied is sort've cute in its own way. Maybe that would make it the perfect moment. Oh! And speaking of perfect…Rachel, Kairi,"

"What? What's with that smile?"

Anna giggled. "I'm sure it's coming, whether it be next week, next month or next year I'm sure Kristoff will ask me, and I'll totally say yes."

"Soooooo, what's that look for?"

"Yeah, you look like you're dying to say something."

"I am. Rachel, Kairi, will you both be my bridesmaids?"

"*Gasp!*"

"Yesyesyesyesyes!"

(Interlude with emotional girly squeals and giggles of joy)

"So would Elsa be the maid of honor?" Kairi asked, still smiling.

"Well, I'm sure she would if I asked her but she's the queen. Wouldn't it be a little strange for the ruler of a prosperous country be the maid of honor at her little sisters' wedding?"

"Nonsense." Rachel said matter-of-factly. "Not at all. She may be the most powerful woman in the country, both in terms of magic and authority but she was your big sister long before she was the queen. You ask her if she'll be your maid of honor and I guarantee you'll need to prepare yourself for a very long hug and quite possibly tears."

"I know we have lots of time to plan it, but what would we be wearing?" Kairi asked.

"So long as it's not orange or something so yellow you look at it and go blind I don't care." Rachel said.

"We can talk about that later," Anna said. "We have lots of time after all." She then looked at Rachel and Kairi with a coy smile.

"And what's that smile for?" Kairi asked, playfully suspicious.

"Soooooo…what about you two and your guys?"

"Now are you just talking about relationship status or plans for the long hall?" Rachel asked.

"Either."

More giggling.

(And I'll leave you to imagine in your own head how the conversation might've progressed)

"What about your brother?" Anna asked Rachel after quite a bout of girly gossip. "Is he dancing on the clouds of love with anyone?"

"I don't think so." Rachel said. "But it's not like it's easy to find that special someone living the life that we do and knowing the challenges we face in the future."

"But he'd tell you, wouldn't he?" Kairi asked. "Or at least tell someone."

"I honestly have no idea. We've shared a lot but I really don't know if he'd tell me if he was dating anyone. He might not even tell anyone at all until the relationship was in full swing. But by then his heart would be so aglow with happiness there'd be no way the rest of us wouldn't notice."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it. You really don't know how your own brother would be like if he were to fall in love?" Anna said almost accusingly.

"Well, we do know he'd be a respectful gentleman." Kairi said.

"I've always gotten that vibe too, but how do you know that?" Rachel asked her.

"We talk a lot. Not about that subject specifically but I have picked up on a few things about him from the things we've talked about and things he's said." Kairi paused then smiled. "If I'm right, then there's a young lady out there somewhere who has no idea how lucky she is that they're destined to meet one day."

" _Awww_!" Rachel and Anna said together.

"That is so sweet," Anna said.

"I don't think Lea would be able to keep it a secret if he found that special someone." Rachel said. "He's the only other one of our team that is currently without a sweetheart."

"Of course he would try," Kairi said. "After all the childish teasing he gives to you and me? He has to know we'd return the favor in kind."

"You bet I would." Rachel agreed firmly.

"Hey," Anna said, thinking. "Do you think that maybe-? Nah, it couldn't…could it?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"Remember back to Rachel's birthday party here?"

"Of course, it was wonderful. You can host my birthdays from now on if you like."

"I'll remember that." Anna said. "But remember how we joked about Lea and Elsa?"

Kairi giggled. "You know I do."

"But remember it started because of how you asked if anyone else had noticed that they'd been spending a lot of time talking to each other when we were setting up the party."

"Yeah, and after that you agreed." Kairi said.

"Then Kristoff was the one to actually come out and ask directly if they might have a thing for each other," Rachel continued.

"Exactly." Anna said. "So…do you think they might?"

"…"

"…"

"Well my 'weirdness' scale just went CLANG to one side. One guess to which side that was."

"Why do you ask?" Kairi was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the concept.

"Well," Anna giggled. That got Rachel and Kairi's attention to the fullest. "He's actually come here by himself a time or two to visit with Elsa."

" _ **What**_?!"

"So it's true, you didn't know."

"That's where he's been making solo trips?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Here? Specifically to visit Elsa?" Kairi continued.

Anna nodded. "Seems to be."

"The plot sickens."

"I think you mean 'thickens'."

"No, I really don't."

"But that wouldn't be so bad, would it? I mean, I've known him the least amount of time compared to you or Kairi and he seems really nice." Anna said.

"For the most part," Rachel said.

"And…they're friends?" Kairi wanted to confirm.

"Well, I've only ever seen them talk a lot. But I guess if you can't talk about interesting things you have in common or actually annoy each other then you wouldn't keep doing it, right? Of course *giggle* lots of long talks could turn a like into a _like_. And that turns into flowers and long walks and gazing into-."

"Anna stop! These are concepts the sane human mind has no capability of processing!" Rachel clasped her hands over her ears.

"That's a bit of an overreaction, wouldn't you say?" Kairi asked. "Besides, as much as you two act like grade-schoolers to each other, you know he's a good, dependable person."

"Who put cream cheese in my slippers."

"Who's also a got-your-back-even-when-it's-against-a-wall kind of guy. Besides, you were the one who dropped that bucket of flour on him."

" _Because_ he put cream cheese in my slippers!"

"I really need to hear the rest of that story one day…" Anna said mostly to herself.

"That aside, Lea and Elsa are both our friends. Could you really be unhappy if one day they really did find happiness with each other?"

"You know I wouldn't. It's just…well…I know that love, being what it is can pair up in sometimes the most unusual ways but, come on. Lea and Elsa? That's taking 'opposites attract' to a whole new level. I mean, really, don't you find the idea a bit hard to swallow?"

"I don't think I actually said that."

"Speaking of 'opposites attract'," Anna said thoughtfully. "Elsa has snow powers, and Lea is fire, right? What if they are interested in each other? And it becomes true love? If they were to get married, would their children have water powers?"

Kairi giggled. "Or steam powers."

"Oh! Mist magic perhaps?"

"Please stop talking about Lea in the context of fatherhood." Rachel begged. "Yes, he's a great guy *mutter*inhisownright*mutter* and according to him is great with kids but I cannot squeeze into my head the idea of Lea as a dad. This concept, this image is just not working f-for…me…" She paused.

"Rachel?"

Suddenly Rachel gasped. She clasped both hands over her mouth and her eyes widened with some kind of unknown horror.

"What is it?" Kairi asked, just as confused as Anna.

"No! Nonononono!" Rachel fell over on the cushions, covering her head and thumping her feet rapidly. "No! No! No!" She kept shaking her head, eyes squinted shut like that would somehow get an image out of her head.

" _What_?!" Anna and Kairi cried together.

Rachel righted herself quickly and held both Anna's wrists, looking her in the eye like she were about to bestow life or death information that was to be guarded at all cost.

"Anna, listen to me. It might be fun to joke and speculate about but you cannot, cannot, _cannot_ let this friendship turn into anything else!" She turned to Kairi. "We'll all need to pitch in to make sure a romance _never_ blossoms."

"I think you've completely lost us both." Anna said.

"I mean, yeah, it is a little strange to think about Lea and Elsa _liking_ each other but why do we need to make sure it doesn't happen?"

" _Think_ about it! If Lea and Elsa have a solid friendship that later turns into love, the next step usually tends to be marriage, right?"

Rachel looked expectantly between Anna and Kairi but they still had blank looks as to what she could possibly be talking about.

"Think about who Elsa _is_."

Anna and Kairi glanced at each other, still not getting why this was freaking Rachel out.

"The snow queen?" Kairi asked cautiously.

"Exactly! If she and Lea got married, that would make him the king of Arendelle!"

Deafening silence.

"Oh. Oh… _ **oh**_!"

"I didn't…I never thought…oh…wow."

"That's…um…that's, uh…"

There was an odd silence as both Kairi and Anna tried to place this new thought in a place where it would fit comfortably. But it was like playing one of those handheld oldschool games to get the ball in all the holes, only this time there was only one ball and it was way too big to fit in any hole.

"So can we all agree on the issue here?" Rachel said once Kairi and Anna looked like they'd come back down to earth.

"That certainly is…ah…well," Anna didn't know what to say. They were passed the point of being able to finish a sentence.

"But, he's a Keyblade wielder," Kairi said. "Unless he decides to step away from that destiny, how could anybody be a ruler on a foreign world and a defender of the Light at the same time? That sounds like there'd be a rule against that."

"Probably," Rachel said, thinking about it too.

"But if that were to happen, that would…that would make Lea Anna's brother."

Rachel did an odd shiver. Anna didn't seem to register this new thought. She was still hung up on the thoughts that preceded it.

"But…nothing might actually ever happen, right?" Kairi asked.

"Yes. Yes, we could just be, um, over-speculating just how they feel about each other, yeah." Rachel was hasty to agree.

"I mean, sure, they get a long great as friends but maybe," Anna thought. She looked to Rachel. "You said once that Elsa's powers were classified as, what was it? Elemental, right? Specifically over Ice. Yeah, Lea's like that too only with fire, right? Maybe they don't actually _like_ each other as much as they're happy to have someone to talk to that's just like them. That sounds feasible, doesn't it?"

The topic was quickly changed as they were now journeying into uncharted territories nobody had the proper gear for trekking. Soon after it was time to get into bed. Although bed didn't immediately equate to sleep. Anna's royal bed was wide enough so the three girls lined up across it. It was the only way the three of them could fit by lying across the bed from side to side instead of head to toe. They weren't tired yet so Anna suggested they tell stories; specifically ghost stories. This was a suggestion she regretted when Kairi recommended Rachel tell the tale of the Oath of One Hundred Heads. Anna was in the middle and by the end of the story had retreated beneath the blanket, her head covered completely.

"Now I'm going to have nightmares!" She clutched Cosmic like somehow the presence of a cat would keep away bad dreams.

Also in typical sleepover fashion, every time the girls mutually agreed it was time to sleep, one of them would break the silence a few minutes later with something else to say. That would lead to another conversation, that would lead to another lull that would lead to someone else talking. This repeated about five times before heavy eyelids and lagging brains finally won out and the three girls got cozy and drifted off to dreamland with nothing else to say that couldn't wait until morning.


	49. Movie Time

Since the time Kairi walked in on Rachel and Lea fully engrossed in a terrible movie, the three of them made movie night their thing. Every week after training was over for the day, the three of them would find the multi-purpose room and spend the better part of an evening camped out like fourth-grade girls at a slumber party (which of course included carbonated drinks and some sort of junk food). No matter what happened during the day, the evening ended the same. That was the only consistent time Rachel came back from her special training at the magic castle.

It was a very exclusive club. Fun would either be put on hold or not begin at all if Sora, Riku or Bryan stepped in to ask what they were doing. One time Sora came in and asked what they were up to. Rachel answered then Kairi told him to shoo. When he didn't, Lea paused the movie and they ignored Sora's existence completely. Eventually he took the hint and when he left the evening activities resumed. From then on they kept the door locked. Redundant considering their occupation but it at least got the point across to not disturb.

The theme was always old films first. The room always had several titles for them to choose from. Sometimes they broke pattern but typically they enjoyed old films and making fun of bad acting and horrible special effects. Sometimes they watched one they'd already seen after watching a new one. That time the hour and a half or so would be dedicated to calling out plot holes, critiquing and such.

And, of course there were time where the movie would get paused for whatever reason and remain that way for a good fifteen minutes or more as the three of them just talked. Sometimes the most interesting part of an evening wasn't even the movie.

Such was a time when Kairi came in to find Rachel was there first. But before the princess could even say hello she noted her friends pouty pose and scowl as she slouched on the couch.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Lea."

"Isn't it always? What'd he do this time?"

"This time nothing. And that's exactly the problem. A prank backfired."

"I thought you two were done with the prank war."

"Master just said to dial it back. He never said quit completely. So, whenever the door of opportunity opens, rest assured I will kick Lea through it like a farm mule. It just didn't…work this time."

"What did you do? Or try to."

"I created a work of art! That's what!"

"I can't fully be on your side until I know the whole story."

"I was reading these really cool series of books from another universe. One's called Guinness and the other is called Ripley's. Both have a lot of cool facts of the weird and fantastic of their world. Crazy place by the sounds of it but I kinda want to see it. Anyway, Guinness works specifically with outstanding records for just about anything. Highest mountains, most push-ups done in an hour, you name it."

"What does that have to do with Lea?"

"In one of them listed a hot pepper that held its title as the hottest in the world."

"I think I see where this is going."

"It was called the Carolina Reaper. I don't know how the hotness of a pepper is figured, but a habanero is I guess anywhere between eighty thousand and six-hundred thousand. The Reaper is over two million. So I go to the kitchen and sure enough there's a bowl of these small red peppers on the counter."

"You didn't…"

"I cubed them then coated them with chocolate and gave them to Lea as a friendly offering of sweets."

Kairi gaped at Rachel in horror. "What were you thinking! Something that hot might be dangerous to eat practically raw!"

"Oh give me some credit! I was nearby with a vial of neutralizer if it was that bad. Besides, do you think I'd pass up the chance to Blizzaga Lea in the face if I said I was 'helping'?"

"Yeah but-wait. You said it backfired. How could that backfire?"

Rachel's scowl returned and she crossed her arms over her stomach in a very pouty way. "He liked it."

"Like..? As in…?"

"Yep."

"Um…wow. That's just…wow."

"I'm trying to wear off some of my complete and utter distain for that idiot before he gets here."

"Too late."

Completely oblivious that anyone could have any issues with his very existence, Lea came through the door expecting the evening to commence like it did every week. He still had the bowl of chocolate covered lava rocks.

"Good evening, ladies."

"Hi," Kairi replied. "Oh! Are-? Are you okay?"

"What? Me? Yeah. Why?"

"You look a little flushed."

"It's probably these." Lea indicated the bowl. He looked to Rachel. "And I don't know what you laced these with but I can't make myself stop. Want one?" Lea redirected to Kairi. "Just a heads up they're pretty hot."

"Um, no thanks. I don't really-hey, are you crying?"

"What? Oh no. As much as I like 'em they can really make my eyes water. I was actually going to request a sad movie so I could blame the tears on the candy."

And that evening commenced as normal; the exception being Rachel's surly attitude and Kairi periodically glancing at Lea like she expected him to start breathing fire.

Another night Lea flopped himself on the couch between the girls with a slight change of outfit. Apart from a new pair of simple jeans he wore a snazzy black vest with no shirt underneath. Rachel made sure to comment on this.

"Testing your new stripper outfit?"

"Har har. She thinks she's funny."

"So why must we be subject to your shirtlessness?"

"Like you're going to deny you enjoy looking at this."

Lea stretched out like a cat trying to get the most surface area out of a sunbeam on the couch. Kairi snickered. Rachel didn't look amused.

"Lea…on a scale of orange taffy to a Kit Kat in terms of eye candy…you're a popcorn ball."

"You know, you should be honored. You're the only person I let joke with me like that and get away with it."

" _Get away with it_? Say that like there's anything you could do to me to make me stop. I turned you into a squidlet before because I felt like it."

"No, you turned me into a squid because you're secretly evil. You torment me the way you do because I'm the only one around here who's onto you."

Kairi had been holding the bowl of popcorn and quietly munched between snickers and giggles at the conversation. She didn't want to say anything for fear the conversation might end. By far, this was more fun to watch than the movie they had planned could ever be.

And on other nights Lea was patient when the girls took a minute (or eight) to gossip and giggle about their boyfriends when they weren't around.

"Sora took me to Radiant Garden earlier today. The city looks better every time I see it. We had a nice long walk that ended at Rising Falls. We sat at the top platform and watched the waters until it started getting dark."

"That's nice." Lea said politely. In truth, he was only half listening as he casually grazed from the popcorn bowl.

"Um, can I ask you two something?" Kairi asked.

"Of course."

"Is it…is it being selfish to want something else in a relationship?"

"I guess that depends on what it is."

"Well, nothing big or drastic but…little things. Don't get me wrong, I really am glad when we go to Radiant Garden and other worlds I've grown fond of together. I like that us time a lot. I just…I don't know. This might sound childish, but I always thought of little gifts of flowers or sweet notes to be special and innocently romantic. And I don't mean flashy bouquets or pages and pages of poetry. I mean like a daisy at my spot at the table or even a sticky note with a smiley face on it. Those kind of little things."

"I know exactly what you mean. I love our snuggle times, and I know Riku does too, but it would be nice if he'd be the one to initiate it more than he does. Of course…and this is just me, it would also be nice to see him with is shirt off more often than just when we're at the beach but don't take that as me being selfish. Would you cover a finely cut diamond? No! You show it off for all to observe and admire. I hear you giggling, Kairi, so I know you know exactly what I'm saying. Then again, maybe that's not the best thing after all…I mean, really, there are times when I look at him it's like…like, like there's too much to take in. He doesn't even have to do anything and sometimes it's almost wonderfully painful to look at him." Rachel paused, thinking. "Is it possible to be too handsome?"

Lea sat up a little straighter, the strangest look on his face like this new information had completely turned every truth he'd ever known on its head."

"Maybe that's my problem…" He breathed thoughtfully.

Kairi covered her mouth with a pillow to stifle her giggles.

"Oh, trust me, sugar snap, that's not it." Rachel said.

"Girls can't look at me twice because it's too much to expect mortal eyes to take all this in in a single glance…"

"Maybe subconsciously girls can sense what they'd be getting into and keep walking for survival purposes."

"Now that's rude!"

"Wouldn't it be funny if Lea ended up falling in love with a really short girl?" Kairi asked (mostly to break Rachel and Lea up before they started anything).

"Ooooh! Yes it would!"

"Excuse me? _How_ would that be funny?"

"I can see it now," Kairi laughed. "The preacher pronounces you man and wife and you either have to kneel or she has to stand on a stool."

"I'm getting this image of Lea as the little spoon so it looks like he's wearing his tiny bride as a backpack."

Kairi apologized for giggling hysterically and later admitted she didn't know why she found that so funny. Lea just rolled his eyes and started the movie before either of them could continue.

And the next week,

Lea was in the multi-purpose room first and already had the popcorn bowl full and hot by the time the girls got there.

"Hey. I've already got the show in," He sat down at his usual spot. Rachel and Kairi sat on either side of him, a little closer than they usually did. "It's a black and white picture about a team of filmmakers who take a giant gorilla from the jungle to the big city. From the opening previews it looks like it'll be really ba-ow!"

In exact unison Rachel and Kairi gave Lea a hard punch on each shoulder.

"Ow! Wha-? What was that about? I _said_ nothing! I _did_ nothing!" Lea glanced cautiously between the two girls, each had matching scowls of irritation. Actually, he suddenly and instinctively felt that all movements and such should be kept calm and slow. It was like having a cobra on one side and a rattlesnake on the other.

"You finked!"

"Eh? About what?"

"You told Sora and Riku what we told you last week!"

"You're going to have to more specific than that! I don't even know what my crime is yet!"

"Last week we talked casually about what Rachel and me would enjoy seeing more of in our relationships, and, lo and behold that's exactly what happens _right after_! I found little flowers and adorable notes for me all over these last few days,"

"And not only was Riku the one to _initiate_ more snuggle times, it seemed that every time I was in the training hall while he sparred with one of you he'd suddenly 'get too warm' and take his shirt off."

"So I might've mentioned it! What's the big deal?"

"We told you that in confidence!"

" _How_ was I supposed to know that?"

"What happens at movie time says at movie time."

"Okay, _first of all_ ," Lea was going to do all it took to get this cleared up. "Since when has there been a 'what happens at movie time' rule? Second, do you really think I just came out and _said_ what you two said you wanted? I'm a bit smoother than that. And third, is there really any harm done here?" He looked between the girls like he was expecting an answer but continued before they could. "Anyone can figure out that while Sora has a big heart and a pure and honest approach to love, he can be pretty clueless to the subtle nuances of the little things a girl really needs. Now he's seen what makes you happy and will probably not only keep doing it but maybe take the initiative for future ideas. And you," Lea turned to Rachel. "How is anything you said Riku is doing any kind of problem _at all_?"

Rachel opened her mouth to respond but closed it again almost immediately.

"That's what I thought. See? I was your courier of casual suggestion and you both got exactly what you wanted. So why am I not being thanked?"

A stubborn moment of silence preceded,

"Sorry we hit you."

"I guess it can be a good thing to have a third party tell people things you wouldn't say to them in person."

"Your apologies are accepted."

Further proof that, more often than not, one way or another the movie was the most insignificant part of an evening. Especially when the movie was the atrocity that was the original black and white version of King Kong.

And yet another night,

"Oh, this seems to be a series of four movies." Kairi said, holding up a thick movie case. It was her turn to pick the film of the evening. She knelt down by the case next to the screen to see what the multi-purpose room had given them this week.

"What's it called?" Rachel asked from the couch.

"Jaws."

"Jaws? And it's about-?" Lea asked, skeptical. He'd just finished heating up the bowl of popcorn so the aroma of melted butter wafted throughout the room.

"A rouge shark attacking citizens of a small beach town."

"And they were able to make four movies out of that?" Lea still sounded skeptical. Still, it wasn't like they hadn't ended up watching a few complete flops before. During his last choice, Kairi spent the last half of the movie with her face covered with her hands. The movie wasn't scary, it was too terrible for that. But it was followed by several remakes that got progressively better.

"Don't knock it before the disc is even in the player." Rachel told him.

"I can form an opinion any time I like."

"Oooh, snippy."

"I'm not being snippy."

"Kinda. Don't tell me it's because you're still miffed about when I put color dye in your body wash."

"I knew that was you!"

"That was really bad of me-."

"Yes it was, I'm glad to hear you admit it."

"Pink and red might be in the same color family but they clash so horribly."

"Hey!"

"That was nothing compared to what you did with the water beetle!"

"You cannot prove that and I firmly deny it."

"And I will never not believe it was you so just admit it."

"I can't. I'm against lying."

"Admit it!"

"No."

"Admit!"

"You have no proof."

" _Admit_!"

"I refuse to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit."

" _Admiiiiiiiiit_!"

Rachel hissed the last 'admit' and had been inching her way closer and closer to Lea with each demand. Not like a display of intimidating posture was going to get Lea to spill about anything. Especially from her. Eventually they were eye to eye, Rachel had bumped her forehead against his while continuing to demand he admit his guilt to the crime. Lea had started to push back but he remained steadfast to his innocence (regardless of if he really was or not). Even that devolved from talking to just sort've growling at each other while trying to push the other back using primarily neck muscles only.

Kairi sat back by the screen, watching. She knew both of them were bound to have bruises the next day. It wasn't like there was a lot of muscle to cushion the forehead. Rachel could hide it because she had bangs, Lea didn't. The spectacle, as usual, was very entertaining. It wasn't like this was the first, second, tenth or twentieth time she'd witnessed bickering between the two of them. The fuse for their playful spats was very short. Sometimes it seemed the right button could be pushed just by the two of them breathing in the same room. A while ago, Kairi had an idea come to her. True or not, every time she saw Rachel and Lea play-fight the resolve in her mind grew stronger. Mostly it was an entertaining thought she kept to herself, but, after a while she just had to voice it aloud.

"How do you two seriously not see it!?" Kairi exclaimed.

Rachel and Lea froze and half-turned their heads to her.

"See?"

"See what?"

"The way you two are together! The way you act and fight but not really fight, it's exactly how I picture siblings to be. Yeah, Rachel has a brother, but the way you two are is, in my mind, just how an older brother treats a sister."

Rachel and Lea angled their eyes at each other and each raised a skeptical eyebrow at Kairi's statement. Of course this action, in near perfect sync mind you, only helped to further convince Kairi.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Maybe you two are supposed to be soul siblings."

"Yeah right." Lea said, rolling his eyes. "I don't think the universe could handle it if she was my sister, soul or otherwise."

"So what exactly put this bug in your ear?" Rachel asked.

"Honestly? I have no idea. It just came to me from watching you. And, this is going out on a really far limb, but part of me even wonders if you were _supposed_ to be siblings."

"Eh?"

"Expand please."

"The thought I entertain goes like this: What if Lea was supposed to be a twin-."

"What a terrifying thought…"

"Shut up."

"See? Everything you do supports my theory. Anyway. What if he was meant to have a sister but something happened to the little girl? What if, instead of going to where it was supposed to, her heart remained nearby? What if it waited? Waited for a family expecting a child but only choosing the one where it had the best chance of meeting the heart it was supposed to be born with?"

A pause followed. Then,

"Why would you say something like that!"

"That is so poetically _**sad**_!"

"Kinda beautiful in its own right but yeah, mostly sad."

"I never said I thought I was right! Just saying that's the way it makes sense to me!" Kairi looked to Lea. "That's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

"Huh? Always wanted what?"

"Brothers and sisters of your own, right?"

"What? What makes you say that?"

"You do talk pretty highly of your extended family," Rachel commented.

"When you've shared your memories about your cousins, did I imagine that subtle tone of longing that they were truly your own brothers and sisters?"

Lea was quietly thoughtful for a minute so Kairi continued.

"Obviously I could be reading into it too much, and there is no proof of anything, but indulge me on this for a minute. What if there's a deeper reason behind it? What if, deep down, you subconsciously knew you weren't supposed to be alone? And as special as all those cousins are, they couldn't bridge a gap in your heart the way a true sibling could. Isn't that why you treat your younger friends the way you do? Because deep down you always wanted to be a big brother?"

"That's deep." Rachel eventually said. "True or not is an entirely different can of worms but very interesting to think about all the same. What do you think, Lea?"

"Don't we have a movie to watch?"

For whatever reason Lea didn't want to continue the conversation. Kairi suspected a nerve of truth had been brushed but respected that Lea didn't want to keep talking about it. So she simply put in the movie and took her usual spot on the couch and the evening proceeded as it normally did. They watched the first two in the series before calling it a night. The next week they finished the final two. And,

"That was the worst movie I've ever seen!"

And that was just after Jaws 3.

"The first two were okay, but that was…was, pleh."

"What the heck was with the skinned corpse? A shark can't fillet someone like that! That's too ridiculous to be scary!"

"AND THE ACTING!"

"The second-hand shame made my skin crawl."

"Now I'm worried about the fourth."

"We can still hold out hope."

Then they actually watched the movie.

"I stand corrected. That was just as bad."

"Let's just ignore the existence of those last two."

"How can I? Those are precious hours of my life I'll never get back."

"At least the brownies were good."

" _We had brownies!?_

"Why are you surprised? We have brownies every week."

"What do you think those dark squares I was eating were?"

"Nuts."

"No, they were chocolate chip."

"Hilarious."

"Same time next week?"

"Yep, night guys."

"Night."


	50. Chill Time

"In light of your progress I will allow all of you three days respite from your training. During this time you may do as you wish." Yen Sid told his pupils.

"Three free days? Oh goody! I could use a bit of beauty sleep." Rachel sat on the edge of the Sorcerer's desk.

"Beauty sleep? He said three days, not three weeks."

Rachel turned to Yen Sid and raised her hand like a student in class. "Master, permission to turn Lea into an elephant seal."

"Permission denied." Lea growled.

Rachel looked at Yen Sid with surprise. "Master? What happened to your voice?"

The Sorcerer shook his head but he did have an amused glint in his eye.

"Sooooooo?"

"Not in my study."

"Oh yay!"

"Hey! He didn't say yes!"

"He said not here. That means yes but under conditions. Company dismissed! C'mon, Lea, I'll get the door for you."

The key bearers filed out of the Sorcerers Study. That was the only thing Yen Sid had to say to all of them so there was no need to stay. Rachel hopped up and down clapping her hands outside the door. As one might expect, Lea was the last to leave. He looked over his shoulder to Yen Sid, then back to Rachel.

"I really hate it when I can't tell if either of you are kidding."

Rachel didn't get the chance to turn Lea into an elephant seal. Lea actually turned the tables and charged her. After a quick 'Eeep!', Rachel took off and that began a game of survival tag. At least it made her forget about spelling him.

* * *

"Okay, you got it?"

"Yeah. Start here in the First District, loop around the second and third then take the side door of the First District to the back streets. Take whatever route you like to the Fountain Plaza. Onward to the Fifth District. First to the top of the greenhouse wins. Good thing you're not one to cry when Jewel and I leave you in our dust, right girl?"

Jewel, the Frozluga Dream Eater chittered and squeaked happily. Sora and Bryan left for Traverse Town after leaving the Sorcerer's Study. Sora wanted to visit the Dream Eaters he'd become close friends to in the Sleeping Realm. Traverse Town existed for anything that needed a place of refuge. This included the Spirits Sora and Riku fought with. When not at the Tower with their masters, White, the electric serpent, Fantasia the magic unicorn and Jewel the ice whale went back to Traverse Town to find companionship with others of their own kind. Seger, the fire wolf, on the other hand didn't really care much for the company of anyone or anything who wasn't Bryan. After clowning around with their Spirit friends, Bryan challenged Sora to a race on their Dream Eaters. White and Jewel could fly and would surely make for a fun race. Riku's Komory Bat could of course fly as well but being only about the size of a beach ball wouldn't have made for a very good steed.

After and intense race (it was technically a tie but Bryan claimed he won because White actually touched down whereas Jewel just floated) the remaining Dream Eater appeared at their side. Sora's Yoggy Ram and Riku's Cyber Yog stomped their hooves. They wanted to race too. So the boys mounted up again and took the reverse route back to the First District. Once that race was over Sora and Bryan stretched out over the district steps to catch their breath. They might not have done any actual running but a good race gets your blood pumping regardless.

"So what else do you want to do?" Bryan asked after they relaxed a minute.

"Don't know. And we've still got two and a half days to do whatever we want." Sora watched his Meow Wow and Rachel's', RolliPolli scuffle around a lamppost. RolliPolli was a little smaller and brighter blue than Sora's. It was also funny to watch such short-legged, pudgy creatures bounce around as they tackled and played. Of course, if one jumped on the other they were stuck because their legs were too tiny to push themselves off the others back.

"Maybe tonight we can do something together. Obviously we're all spending the day doing whatever in small groups."

"Depends, will Lea and the girls be having their usual movie night tonight?"

"I think that's tomorrow."

"Think we can turn into field mice and squeeeeeze under the door and watch what they're watching?"

"This we'll have to run by Riku. If he's in, then I'm in."

"I guess that doesn't answer your question about something we can all do tonight. Oh! I know!"

"Yeah?"

"What about we all camp out on the King? We can make it an all-nighter in your rec room with games, music, drinks and junk food. We can either set up more hammocks down below or bring pillows on deck."

"That would work. Wouldn't take much to set up, either."

The idea was gladly accepted once the boys went back and located their friends throughout the Tower. There was a brief interlude before they could relay the suggestion to Rachel and Lea since they had to finish their own antics first.

"What are you doing?" Bryan looked up at his sister.

Lea came down the stairs with a very surly aura about him. You'd think he'd be happy that Rachel was no longer trying to turn him into anything. Rachel floated a few feet behind and above Lea with a stick in both hands. On said stick were two marshmallows she held over Lea's hair.

Rachel fixed her gaze at the marshmallows with a frustrated scowl. "They're not cooking evenly."

"I'll show you cooked evenly." Lea grunted.

He held up his right hand and clicked his fingers. Instantly the marshmallows turned into glowing balls of fire.

"Gyaa! My mellows!" Rachel's sad eyes and pouty lip would've made you think a puppy had just died.

As it was their idea, Sora and Bryan got the lower deck of the Sky King ready for a night of fun. As soon as the sun went down, the others joined them.

The fun lasted for hours. They ate, drank, laughed and played. Bryan, Sora and Riku taught Lea how to play their version of Extreme Ping Pong. Having some experience with their rough-housing, Rachel and Kairi played a quiet game of Crazy Eights…on the _farthest_ side of the room. Even then a stray smashed ball nearly hit Kairi in the head. By the time they were finished, all four boys were heaving like they'd been in an intense fight. They caught their breath over a game of poker. As much as nobody wanted her to, Kairi played as well and smoked them all like a salmon. At least they'd learned their lesson and this was not a game of strip poker.

After that then the six of them found a way to all play pool together. Bryan introduced a new way to play. They paired up, Sora with Rachel, Kairi with Lea and Riku with Bryan. After the first ball went in, the shooter was assigned that cluster of numbers, 1-5, 6-10 or 11-15. The objective of the game was to be the first to get your numbered group off the table. And you didn't have to be the one to knock the ball in for it to count toward your score. Of course that also meant you had to be careful not to help out the other teams either. If anyone scratched, they had to take one of their balls out of the hole and back on table. If you got one of yours in, the rules of taking another turn stayed the same. Only in this version there was nothing special about the eight ball.

"Quit trying to sabotage my shot! Featherduster!"

"Now, now, I know you love me but is name calling really polite?" Lea asked Rachel innocently.

"Love?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "I think you're mistaking yourself for me."

"Of course not. I know she loves me. My rapier wit, devilish good looks and overflow of charm? What chance did she have? Besides, Riku, why are your finely preened feathers getting ruffled? I mean, really, you all should know there's a difference between loving someone and being _in love_ with them."

An understanding chorus of 'mhn-hmms' and head nods went around the pool table.

"Wow, Lea, that was board-lining profound." Bryan smirked.

"Not to toot my own horn but I like to think so. In fact, while we're on the subject, I will shamelessly admit that, in my own way, I love all of you. But I'm not _in love_ with any of you." Lea paused just as he pulled the pool stick back to take his intended shot. "Well…maybe not. I _**might**_ be nursing a tiny man-crush on one of you but I'm not going to say who it is."

For a split second the only sound in the room was that of two billiard balls clacking against each other. That was followed by hoots and cackles from Rachel and Kairi. Rachel actually ended up on her knees clinging to the side of the table. Sora, Riku and Bryan half-glanced at Lea with raised eyebrows; trying to discern whether or not Lea was teasing. However, even though he wasn't necessarily the best poker player, he had a really sound poker face. Although Lea wasn't able to subdue a smirk at the assortment of expressions his comment invoked.

With such rules the game lasted quite a long time. After that, Bryan jumped on his drum set and entertained them with a jazzy tune. Rachel chilled in one of the hammocks, drawing and talking as the others continued playing pool. Sora and Kairi teamed up against Riku and Lea and started a new game going back to the basic rules. During this game, Sora and Kairi had stripes and Riku and Lea had solids.

"I'll play winner." Rachel said from her hammock.

"And what if the winning team doesn't want to make room for you?" Riku asked, a sassy smirk audible in his voice. "Two, side pocket." He took a shot and the blue ball slid straight and true across the table and into the hole.

"Oooh!" Kairi stamped her foot. "C'mon, Sora! We have to do better or they're gonna win! They've only got three balls left!"

"Actually there's four," Lea said casually. As they were on teams, each team member took turns taking a shot. Riku got one in so Lea took their second turn.

"I wasn't counting the eight ball. That only counts when it's the only one left." Kairi huffed.

"I can only speak for myself, of course. But I would _assume_ there's four," Lea continued as though she hadn't spoken, moving around the table trying to line up the perfect shot.

"Huh?" Sora said.

Lea stopped just as he was about to call the shot to glance at Riku and see if he got the joke. Riku just shook his head and tried not to smile. Sora and Kairi looked between them, confused. Before they could ask anything, Bryan hyena-barked a laugh when he got it and hit his drums in the comical _ba da ting_ sound when someone makes a joke. Rachel didn't say anything but you could _hear_ her eyes rolling from across the room when she got it. Sora and Kairi never did.

Several rounds followed. Everyone's luck hit a bit of a lull for a few turns. Finally after Riku took a shot for his team, Sora finally got a ball in. Kairi took their second turn. While this happened, Lea stood at one end of the table but wasn't paying attention to the game.

Bryan was beating out a snazzy _tum tum tum_ on the bass drum. He could beat the bass with his right foot and accompany it with a _tin tin tin_ on the hi-hat with his left foot as well as _tat tat tat_ between the tom-toms, snare or floor tom with his right hand. His left hand he held out away from his head and with it was spinning the other drum stick. Bryan happened to glance to his left while doing this to see Lea watching him. The music master smirked at Lea's undivided attention to his left hand spinning. And of course he recognized the question in his friends' eyes. But he wasn't about to answer just yet. Instead, Bryan got cocky. Continuing to tap out with his feet, Bryan raised his right hand and started spinning that one too! It was like he had two little propellers in his hands! Finally Lea just came out and asked,

"How are you doing that?"

"It's an illusion."

"What?"

"The stick isn't actually spinning."

Bryan stopped tapping and held out his left hand toward Lea. He held the drumstick between his pointer and middle fingers. Together he started wiggling his fingers into a bit of a figure-eight motion. At first he moved slowly. But as he moved faster, the motion blur made it look as though the stick was moving full-circle.

"C'mon Kairi, take your turn." Riku interrupted.

"Well I would if Lea would get his stupid butt out of my way!"

The shot she wanted to try was only possible if she stood where Lea was. Kairi prodded him in the side with her pool stick. And of course in response to the comment, Lea refused to move.

"Butt? What butt? Lea doesn't have a butt."

At Rachel's comment, even the air froze. It was like everyone had just looked in the eyes of Medusa. Four pairs of eyes glistened with a smile and darted back and forth between Rachel and Lea. It was one of those completely out of left field comments that left you shocked by its sudden randomness and you're amused by it but at the same time you know, for one reason or another, you probably shouldn't be laughing (in this case that reason was survival). You could almost hear Lea's neck muscles creak as he turned slowly to face her. It was like an old door in a haunted house slooooooowly opening.

"What did you say?" He said quietly.

Rachel answered but in such a way like it was Bryan or one of the others had asked it.

"Male anatomy doesn't make any sense anyway. With no distinguishable waist and where pants and belts rest on barely noticeable hips, where the middle _actually_ is and where it _looks_ like it _should_ be is hard to figure out. And when you're nine-foot-eleven like Lea-."

"Really? You're going to exaggerate that much?"

"-without an ounce of fat or meat anywhere on him-"

"Hey!"

"-it's even stranger. Honestly, if Lea were to stand sideways and suck in his stomach he'd disappear."

" _Seriously_?"

"Sweetie, you're a toothpick with hair. If being a key bearer doesn't work out for you I'm sure you could make a killing as a chimney sweep. And by that I mean you could be the broom."

It was getting harder and harder for the others to keep their desperate desire to snicker in check. Lea narrowed his eyes at her. But she wasn't done.

"So, back to my original comment,"

"She really likes to live dangerously, doesn't she?" Sora asked, looking between Riku and Kairi.

"We all know Lea's a hiccup of nature anyway so lacking a basic of human anatomy isn't that farfetched."

Meanwhile Lea impatiently drummed his fingers on his pool stick. His face was hard to read.

"How can anyone that twiggy have such a feature? So my conclusion is that Lea must not have a butt. There's just this…this… _space_ where his back meets his legs."

Sora and Kairi cracked first. Like, egg-dropped-on-a-brick cracked, like hot-glass-meets-cold-water kind of cracked. Riku and Bryan followed right after. They weren't as shameless about it though…at least not right away.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Sora sputtered and wheezed. "But ih-if I, if I had *snort* If I had tried holding that in my-my teeth would've exploded!"

Kairi was in about the same state. Rachel hadn't so much as snickered but her smile was very loud. Lea gripped his pool stick tightly, drumming his finger against the table tensely. He breathed deeply and slowly as one does when trying to keep their temper in check. More likely Lea was trying not to smile. It was one of those times when _what_ was said was funny but it's _not_ funny if it's at your expense.

"I can think of a very sure-fire way to prove you wrong but I don't think your brother or boyfriend would appreciate it."

Bryan's head snapped back as he belted out new peals of laughter; nearly falling off his stool in the process.

The fun continued long into the night. But hours of heavy laughter, bellies full of chocolate and other garbage and just the basic human need for sleep eventually began to wear them out. They sat around the card table, grazing on whatever snacks were left, talking, playing whatever card game anyone suggested and commenting how they should probably be thinking about going to bed but not actually getting up to turn in.

"Hey Sora, want me to deal you in?" Bryan asked as he shuffled.

"That's okay," Sora yawned. "You can go ahead and watch the pink elephant shoe without me."

"Huh?"

Riku whipped around and gaped at Sora with a look of awed disbelief.

"I don't believe it." He said after a moment of staring.

"What is it?" Lea asked. "There something special about this? Apart from the fact what he said made no sense."

"Sort've." Riku answered. "It's just, as a kid Sora always got really weird when he got really tired. I took advantage of it at sleep overs all the time because I could get him to say the most bizarre things and it was hilarious. I thought he grew out of it."

"So what exactly does that mean?" Bryan asked.

"It means you can say anything to him or ask him anything and not only will his responses be really strange but he'll never remember any of it." Riku stood up and quickly sat down next to Sora. "Sora?"

Sora slowly turned to look at him, his eyes very fuzzy. "Yeah, Riku?"

Riku thought for a second. "Okay, tell me something you've always wanted to do."

At first Sora didn't answer. Kairi was about to suggest Riku ask again when Sora answered in a bizarre daze,

"I always wanted to gently shake a chicken."

Everyone was so surprised by the strange response they couldn't even laugh properly. Lea and Bryan snorted so hard in shock they each held their noses because it hurt so badly.

"Wh-why, why do you want to shake a chicken?" Riku wasn't even sure how he managed to ask that without breaking down laughing.

"When you pick up a chicken and shake it, its head doesn't move. How does its head not move?"

Sora wasn't fazed at all when all his friends started laughing around him. But now that they all had seen how it worked, everyone wanted to have a turn. Everyone had weird questions to ask or just wanted to say things to him to see how he'd respond. And Sora was in such a dazed sleep-walking state he didn't seem to care two ways about it but responded anyway because naturally that's what you do when addressed.

"Sora? Sora." Lea waved in front of his face to get his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Mare's eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."

Sora cocked his head quizzically and looked at Lea strangely. "Sorry, but I just don't feel that way about guys."

Bryan almost slipped out of his chair he was laughing so hard. Lea looked completely dumbfounded.

" _What_? How does-?"

Nobody else cared. If Sora's tired brain had gone all fluffy, nothing was going to make sense. Of course that only made it all the more amusing. So Kairi tried next.

"How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?"

"I think it only takes three and a half. I wouldn't risk it though. I think the moon only likes honey with its tea."

Over and over they took turns getting Sora to say weird stuff. Faces flushed, guts in knots and wide awake from all the laughing. Their cheeks hurt something terrible and no doubt their abdomen muscles would be very sore in the morning. Sora must've been really tired that all the tee-heeing around him didn't jostle him into a better state of awakeness. But he was getting visibly more and more tired. It wouldn't be long before he'd just fall asleep and the fun would be over.

"Sora." Rachel tried. "Soooora." He half-cocked his head toward her, just in recognition that she'd spoken. "Bryan and Kairi are eloping."

But all he did was stare blankly. Rachel shook his shoulder and he jolted. They thought he'd woken up but he hadn't.

"Sorry. I just started thinking about rabbits and how 'good morning' is actually two separate words."

"I think we should let him sleep." Bryan said. "Not for his sake; ours. I don't know how much more of this my stomach can take. C'mon, Sora. Up ya get." He took Sora by his upper arm and pulled to encourage him to stand up.

"Where're we going?" Sora asked as he stood up.

"Dancing. C'mon. Give me your other arm and we can do it right."

"Oh. Thanks, but I'm not that hungry."

Through his own snickering Bryan helped guide his friend to one of the hammocks that was always hung up on the lower support poles of the Sky King. Everyone else looked on, wondering if Sora was still lucid enough to lie down in a hammock or if Bryan could get him down without Sora falling over the other side. Surprisingly, it worked. Sora wasn't even fully horizontal before he was out. Like completely out. Zonked, Zzzz'd, unplugged, Sandman assaulted, hope-there's-no-fire-because-there's-no-way-you-can-get-me-to-move kind of out.

Still giggling but finally to the point of calling it a night for real the rest of the team got ready for bed. Rachel and Kairi went above deck to Rachel's cabin. The remaining boys set up a few more hammocks across the support beams and didn't take more than a minute or two to fall asleep.

The following morning a simple breakfast awaited them in the galley and the second day of free fun. Sora was his usual bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self. He gave no indication he had any recollection of what happened during their fun night after the party had begun to stagnate during the second round at the poker table. While Sora wandered off to do whatever he felt like, Riku, Kairi and the others made a quick huddle. There had to be a discussion in regards to what happened. And there was a discussion. Along with a share of chuckles, snorts and guffaws. Then there were the snickers from at least one of them throughout the day whenever they crossed paths with Sora. One time Lea went so far as to elbow Sora knowingly and said,

"So, shake any chickens lately?"

"Huh?"

But not another word was said. And to top it off with a cherry on the afternoon of the last free day, Rachel came up to Sora and presented him with a summoned chicken.

"Now your dream can be realized." She gave it to him and walked away.

"Wait, what? Hey! Don't go! Wh-what-what am I supposed to do with this!"

Sora stared at the hen lightly clucking in his hands but Rachel had made a hasty adieu and somehow he figured she wouldn't have answered him if he'd found a way to make her stay. In fact, everyone was acting funny. Sora figured it had to have something to do with the party but of all the funny things that happened he couldn't recall anything the others would be keeping from him that they would be finding so amusing now. Naturally he tried many times but no one would answer him as to what the fuss was about. They'd just walk away and giggle. Somehow he could picture his friends standing in a circle dressed in black cloaks with candles, swearing a blood-oath to never breathe a word to him about whatever it was they found so funny. The chicken he let loose in one of the Tower Gardens was his only clue. Of course, it wasn't like she knew anything special either.


	51. Potion Project

"I can't believe you guys! You can't be left alone for five minutes without creating disaster!"

"Oh come on. Like you never made a mistake?"

"Like you're one to talk! This is your fault! You weren't even supposed to be here!"

One morning at the Mysterious Tower, the Sorcerer, Yen Sid gave a magic assignment to Masters Sora and Riku along with Bryan to assist and refresh his own abilities. Potion making wasn't exactly a skill that could be utilized on the fly as a key bearer but Yen Sid wanted all his students to be familiar with of course combat skills as well as the various forms of magic. He wasn't going to force advance studies on them but if they chose to do so on their own, the basics were necessary first.

Just like how some powers and knowledge were only available to Keyblade Masters, there were some magicks that also were reserved for certain ranks and skill. So, Sora, Riku and Bryan were meant to work on a moderate level potion together. Bryan wasn't really enthusiastic about potion making but some things you had to learn whether you wanted to or not because the teacher said so. Only, Lea had come in and insisted that he help and learn too. The other three tried to make him leave but it was no good. This was a project for Masters but Lea didn't want to be left out. And that's where the trouble started.

At first, apart from Master Yen Sid saying the project was for Masters only, the others reasoned it couldn't hurt for Lea to be there. This was a group project, what could it hurt if the group was just a little bigger so long as they still all worked together? Then they discovered Lea had a rather lackadaisical mindset when it came to potions. It couldn't be that different from cooking, right? For example, the complete omission of salt from chocolate chip cookies did nothing to worsen or ruin the recipe. Same went if you put in two teaspoons of baking soda even if the instructions called for one and a half. So you'd have a slightly puffier cookie, big deal.

The same mentality could _not_ be applied to potions. In potions, the margin of error without disastrous results was usually very small. And sometimes the details of a potion in regard to an ingredient or how it was prepared were often unorthodox but could not be done any other way if expected to get the correct result (such was a good example of a time when Rachel complained about a potion that wouldn't boil unless you played _Hot Cross Buns_ on the recorder. And she didn't know how to play). This they discovered rather quickly. But up until the time came to actually sample the finished brew did they question that something might not be quite right. The color, smell and consistency were very close or exactly how the book said it was supposed to. Then came time to actually try it.

Sora was the brave soul who volunteered to sample their work. According to the book, the potion they made was supposed to shed most magical maladies caused by a number of spells. The book described a full-body, tingly, euphoric feeling that would last a few seconds if not afflicted by any kind of magic. So the others waited for a moment after Sora drank the small glass of potion for him to report if the described sensations were in fact what they should be. Only…Sora went a little glassy-eyed and non-responsive. Then the lethargy went straight on through to loopy.

At first it was amusing. Yeah, proof they'd messed up somewhere but nothing serious happened as a result. But it didn't fizzle out after the first few minutes and Riku and Bryan were getting concerned that something other than Sora trying to catch imaginary butterflies could be going on. They went over the potion steps over and over trying to figure out where they'd gone wrong so they might pinpoint what was causing Sora's odd behavior and if it was something they should be worried about. But as far as they could tell nothing had been done so obviously incorrect it should be doing what they were seeing now. So, not wanting to admit defeat just yet (and desperately not wanting to show such an obvious failure to Yen Sid when he returned) Bryan called Rachel over to assess the problem. As a learning practitioner of higher magicks she might know what happened and how to fix it. And it didn't take long to figure out it was Lea's fault.

"And what color did it turn after you stirred it for the third time?"

"Metallic bronze, just like the book said." Riku said. "And it started to smell like coconut and cut grass as expected at that time too."

"And you took it off the heat after seven minutes?"

"Seven minutes exactly and it fizzed just like it was supposed to." Bryan continued.

"Who mixed the fetris oil and the gletrol?"

"I did," Lea said. "Before that chopped brown stuff and after the pink powder that smells like kerosene."

"Uh-oh."

"What?" Bryan glanced over his shoulder at Sora; who, presently was spinning in circles with his arms spread out making 'weeee' noises.

"Did you pour the oil into the gletrol or the gletrol into the oil?"

"Huh? I don't remember. What difference does that make?"

"I'll bet anything that's where you went wrong."

"Didn't we say for you to go away, Lea?"

"So this _is_ his fault?" Now it was Riku's turn to look concerned at Sora. He'd bumped into the wall from spinning without looking and was lying on the floor, flapping his arms around like a clumsy backstroke.

"Oh come on, how could that make that big a difference?" Lea defended.

"It makes all the difference! Magical and chemical compounds can be very particular! It's like mixing hydrochloric acid and water! If you pour A into a jar of B you're fine, but if you pour B into a jar of A it explodes! To make this potion work properly you _have_ to pour the gletrol _through_ a standing amount of fetris oil!"

"What is a fetris anyway?"

"Will you be serious!" Bryan snapped at Lea. "You weren't even supposed to be here. Now the potion's messed up, Master will be back anytime to see what we've done and on top of that you've doped Sora!"

His description wasn't that far off. After pretending to swim on the floor, Sora had gotten up and ran back and forth across the room, jumping up to catch something just beyond his reach. He kept checking his clenched hands to see if he caught it then did it again when he found nothing. The mild hallucinogenic effect didn't last long but was quickly replaced by what could be best described as an anesthetic high.

"Hug!" Sora said mistily.

He leaned heavily against Bryan's shoulder but didn't actually raise his arms to hug. Maybe he thought he was but however the potion was affecting him made it so some parts of his brain were disconnected.

"Somebody fix him," Bryan said dully.

"I'll give you a hug if you want," Lea said, amused.

"Yay!"

Sora skipped over to Lea with his arms spread. Only his depth perception must've been on the fritz too. He leaned in for the promised hug but stopped too soon. Lea didn't step up to help. He just held out his arm and caught Sora with his hand as he fell forward. Lea chuckled.

"Sora, you're a little defective right now."

Sora looked up at him with the most pitiful look you could imagine. He looked like a toddler that just had his ice cream stolen.

"And I didn't get you anything." He whimpered.

"This is even better than when he's tired."

"I can't believe it messed up that badly." Riku sat at the workbench, elbows on the table and hands clawed through his hair. "This isn't going to be permanent, is it?"

"Shouldn't be." Rachel answered.

"How long will it last?"

Lea of course asked that more out of a selfish desire to be amused for a bit longer. Bryan recognized this immediately and gave Lea a shame-on-you glare that was masterfully ignored. Lea made a tiny fireball and it danced and jerked around in his palm. Sora followed it with his eyes with the same attentiveness of a cat watching a laser pointer.

"How much did he drink?"

"Not quite a full glass," Riku gave the small glass on the table a push with his hand to bring Rachel's attention to it.

"About an hour? Maybe?"

"Not enough time to brew it again and have Sora snapped out of it by the time Master comes back to check on our progress," Bryan growled.

"No need to be so sour," Lea said casually. He extinguished the fireball and Sora started looking around for where it had gone. "We can call this a learning experience. Failures are sometimes necessary in order to get better."

"Like you're one to talk!" Riku scolded. "This might not have happened at all if you had left when we told you to! Or you could have just watched. Observation is just as good a teacher. This was a Masters project and we-."

Riku's scolding might have had a chance to drive home his point if not for what happened next. His less-than-dulcet tones got Sora's attention. Sora then scampered to Riku's side, firmly hugged him around the neck, laid the side of his face against the side of Riku's head and started petting his hair.

"Kitty," Sora cooed mistily. "Nice kitty,"

It was about that point when Lea completely lost it. Bryan put his face in his hands and shook his head. Riku grumbled a bit. Sora gasped and continued petting his hair with fervor.

"No! No, no, kitty. Don't hiss. Let's be friends. Best friends…" He trailed off a bit but continued mumbling dreamily about being best friends with the soft kitty.

"That's it!" Rachel declared.

"What is?" Bryan asked her.

"I'm out. Good luck. I'm done."

"What? I thought you were going to help us!"

"You've passed the point of no return, little brother. Riku, love ya but you gents are on your own. I'm outta here."

"Wait!"

But it was too late. With a dramatic jump and a puff of magic Rachel transformed herself into a tiny hummingbird harpy. Her shiny feathers sparkled as she moved in the light. Without another word she buzzed hastily and noisily to the open doorway. Only, about the same time as she reached the door, Master Yen Sid came from around the other side. With reflexes none present thought possible, Yen Sid held up his hand and,

"Umph!"

Caught Rachel as she tried to fly away. The sorcerer held his long fingers like a cage, like the way you might try to keep a butterfly from getting away without hurting it.

"Why were you in here? And where are you going in such a hurry?"

"No reason! Not going anywhere special! Just leaving!"

Rachel slipped between his fingers and made a hasty retreat like a tiny feathered rocket. It was then Yen Sid turned back to the open doorway and the boys froze (except of course Sora who was still under the impression Riku's hair was a cat).

"So…who would care to explain what has happened here?"


	52. Zoo Quest

"How does this keep happening?"

A familiar scenario played out on a Mini Quest. A bit of peril forced the team through a passage that ended with a door that closed behind them. Once again the space was very cramped.

"Rachel, Bryan, you know what to do."

With a _puff_ the little space got less squished as Rachel and Bryan turned themselves into squirrels.

"Okay, feel around for a door."

On the other side of the door was a very empty building. Well, it was full of things but no people. They were squished into a closet in the back of a shop of some kind. It was full to the gills of animal merchandise.

"What is this?" Sora asked, looking around. "A toy store?"

"What toy store only stocks animals?" Bryan asked.

"Ever hear of a theme?" Riku pointed out.

"Aww! It's so cute!" Kairi found a plump hippo plush with big adorable eyes.

"Put it back." Bryan strode passed her to the door.

"No need for irritability." Kairi pouted, giving the hippo a squeeze.

"Why not? I've already got an idea what's going to happen next."

"You mean-?"

"Yep."

Outside opened up into a cobblestone square. But it was so much more than that. Caws and other cries wafted through the pathways and other large buildings. It was all very neat and clean.

"Oooooh! I think this is a zoo." Rachel said.

That would explain nothing but animals in the shop. It must be the zoos gift shop. In the center of the square was an obelisk with a clock at the top. On the pillar itself were carved stone plaques with things like "Reptile House", "Aquarium" or "Monkey Island" and arrows to the pathways that led away from the square. A little box was at the base of the tower. A ring of red bricks circled the obelisk.

"This has a disgusting ring of familiarity to it." Riku said.

"So you think that-? Once we cross the ring of bricks-?" Kairi asked.

"Let's get this over with." Lea sighed in a resigned way.

They all crossed the ring. Except Riku.

"C'mon. It won't work until we're all over." Rachel said.

"I know. Why do you think I don't want to do it?"

But he didn't have a choice. And the second he stepped over the line a great PWOOF! of magic occurred. As expected, most of the team had regressed to their child selves. And Bryan wasn't the one left as his normal self. This time, it was Lea.

Lea looked down at the half-pints around him. This was even odder for him because he was so tall. "I'm not sure which is the worst side of the fence to be on." He eventually said.

"What are you talking about?" Sora said. "You said you were great with kids."

"Yeah, _kids_. Family, other people's kids, one day _my_ kids. Not my friends turned munchkin."

"Who're you callin' 'munchkin'!" Little Kairi snapped, hands on her hips.

"GEEEEE! Bryan! You're so cute!" Rachel pounced on her brother with a big hug.

"Whoa, Bryan." Sora circled his friend. "I know it's because you're a kid now, but, this is the first time I've seen you without the mustache."

"I have."

"Shut up, Lea."

"Now, now, that's no way to talk to your elders, kiddo."

"Just read what the objective is this time!"

Lea chuckled and opened the little box. Sure enough, there was a scroll rolled up inside. Just like last time, as soon as he was done reading it, a little timer appeared in the corner.

"So?" Sora asked.

"Looks like we're gonna be lookin' for three jeweled boxes. Two are somewhere in the zoo, the last is actually in an enclosure."

"Guess we know who's got that job." Riku said.

"Wait, you mean me?"

"Yes, Lea, you."

"And why am I going to be the one getting in the cages?"

"You wouldn't really make a little kid get in with the lions or the alligators, would you?" Bryan put on his best innocent-kid pouty face. He even let his lip quiver a little.

"Guess it depends on how annoyed you make me."

"Will we keep getting younger, like last time?" Sora cut in.

"I think it's safe to say that we will." Riku answered dully.

"Let's get going before we can't properly enunciate anymore." Kairi said.

And so the march began. It was a quick march. Everyone scurried about as quickly yet thoroughly as they could. Even Rachel, the nature freak/animal lover didn't allow the incredible creatures to distract her attention for very long. Even when they did she still glanced around their enclosure for a jeweled box. And since the regression wouldn't begin until after the timer ran out, Lea didn't worry about the rest of them scattering to cover more ground so long as they were organized so not to waste time searching an already cleared area.

"Found one!"

It was Kairi. The outdoor enclosure of Monkey Island was just that. A tall jungle gym of posts and ropes sat atop a raised mound of earth and concrete. Surrounding it was a moat too deep for any monkey to brave swimming across. Even if they did they would be stopped by a brick wall for viewers to observe from behind. On the outside, one of the bricks was missing and a small jeweled box had been wedged in its place.

"One down," Sora said.

"So are they all going to be that little?" Rachel asked.

"I hope not." Riku said.

"And the note doesn't say. Just to look for three." Lea told them.

And so the search continued. Sora, Riku and Bryan searched the exhibits of the Reptile House while Lea and the girls continued outside. It was a welcome surprise to learn Rachel and Bryan, despite being little could still fly. That came in handy when retrieving the second box. Said box was bigger than the first. Just big enough in fact to hold the first box like a nesting doll. Bryan as able to get it down from its place hidden high in a tree next to the eagle enclosure by himself. Good thing too. It wasn't long after that the timer ran out. It wouldn't be long before the regression began. In fact, it started happening a little faster than before on the farm.

This of course was hardly a picnic for Lea either. Trying to keep five youngsters focused at a zoo? At least they all stuck together without a lot of fuss. And he made use of his height to be just intimidating enough that when he said it was time to move on they listened. But this was only half the battle. The third box was still in an enclosure somewhere. And there was no way of knowing if it was going to be smaller than the first or larger than the second. The second was about the size of a shoebox so Lea really hoped it would be bigger. That would make it easier to spot. Smaller? That might border on impossible if it wasn't blatantly up front somewhere. Though if that were the case it would most certainly be in a cage with a cranky gorilla or something venomous. The exhibits they'd explored before Lea was confident did not contain the last box. All six of them were focused and alert at that point and eager to get this over with quickly.

"Can we feed the ducks?"

"No."

"Can we go back to see the monkeys?"

"You're already a troop of monkeys you don't need to see them again."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are. And you two!" Lea reached up over his head, grabbed Bryan by the ankle and yanked him back down several feet. "Don't you go floating too far."

"We won't," Little Rachel promised.

"Do that again!" Bryan said excitedly. He flew up a little higher, hoping Lea would pull him back down.

"Is there ice cream?"

"Can I get a piggyback?"

"No, and no."

Little Kairi tugged on Lea's pant leg to get his attention. "Can we p'ease go see the fishes?" She pointed across the way to a large building with tropical fish painted on the walls.

" _Fishies_!?"

"No you don't!" Lea had to take three lunging steps and a jump to catch Rachel by the foot before she tried zooming off ahead.

"You _pwomised_!" Sora scolded after she was caught.

"That's right, she did. On the ground, both of you. _Now_."

Rachel huffed a bit but did as instructed. Bryan hovered a few inches off the ground. He looked up at Lea with a mischievous grin, testing if Lea would notice and if he could get away with not technically touching down like he was told. He didn't. Lea placed his hand flat on Bryan's head and pushed him down the last few inches. Bryan giggled, clearly thinking he was clever for trying.

Once they got to the entrance of the aquarium, Lea blocked the door and turned to his pint-sized posse.

"So what are we looking for?"

"Those."

Five little hands pointed to the jeweled box Lea had under his arm.

"We'll be indoors so no yelling and don't hit the glass. Oh, and whoever finds the box first gets a piggyback on our way out."

A squeal of delight erupted from the tiny troop and they rushed passed Lea to the aquarium.

The first thing to see was a huge wall of glass, behind which was stuffed to the gills (pun intended) with rainbow trout. The room was small but had another set of doors that led to the interior and main aquatic exhibits. The first room had another big tank of trout immediately to the right. Down a curved ramp smaller tanks lined the walls. This room was mostly freshwater fish. Nothing too big or flashy but it had the attention of the tykes all the same. All five of them swarmed each tank to see what was inside before moving as a single huddle to the next one. Lea had to remind them several times to keep an eye out for the box. The next exhibit was down a wide hall and separated from the freshwater fish by a curtain of colorful plastic chains. They didn't get anywhere for a few minutes because the chains were fun to play in. Around the next corner the little group got a little pushy trying to see inside a tank imbedded in the wall.

"It's an octopus!" Sora cried.

"Where?" Riku shouldered his way next to Sora.

"There!"

"I wanna see!"

"Where?"

"Right _there_!"

"I WANNA SEE!"

"Kairi! Don't yell."

"But they won't let me see!"

"Then look at something else until they're done."

"Kairi! Come see! Come see! Looklooklook!" Rachel pointed excitedly to all sorts of incredible and colorful fish in the next enormous tropical tank.

They watched large orange fish look for resting spots on the rocky back of the tank. A leopard shark went back and forth along the sand. Starfish the size of dinner plates slooooowly crawled up the glass. Kairi completely forgot about wanting to see the octopus. Bryan managed to elbow his way in to see it too then the three boys kept going, the giant wall of tropical wonder not keeping their interest very long. Neither did the tide pool room that followed. Lea had to shoo Rachel and Kairi onward so they didn't get left behind. There were several whiny protests when they couldn't stay to look at the tide pool because they had to catch up with the boys. Sora, Riku and Bryan presently were pressed against the glass of the next exhibit. They were watching little penguins watch them as they darted about in the water.

"I FOUND IT!"

"What did I say about yelling?"

"But I found it!"

Riku pointed excitedly in the big tank. At the bottom in the very back sat a large jeweled box. Of course it had to be at the bottom. And it _water_ no less! Lea rolled his eyes. He didn't want to have to take a dive with a bunch of penguins. Then a thought occurred to him. He might not have to.

The penguin exhibit was in a deep half-circle in the wall. But it wasn't completely sealed. The water was kept back by a glass wall that went up about two feet from the water level. So, if tall enough one could actually put their hand over the top. Lea wasn't quite that tall but there were ways around that. And he had an idea of how to get the box. First, he called his Keyblade. His child friends watched with sparkly eyes of wonder. Obviously they'd forgotten they could do the same. It took Lea a second to remember how to best execute the thought he had via magic. Eventually it came to him and he placed the end of his Keyblade on the stone next to the tank wall. The stone reshaped itself and raised up against the glass, the top staying flat. The new platform stopped at a little over three feet. And of course the kids thought that was the most incredible thing ever. Then came the attempt of Phase 2.

Lea stepped up on the little platform.

"Hey, Rachel, c'mere."

"Me?"

"Yes you. I think you can get the box. Want to swim with the penguins?"

"Peyn-gins! Yesyesyesyes!"

"I wanna s'im with pegins too!"

"No, Kairi. This idea might not even work."

Lea lifted Rachel up and leaned over the top ridge of the glass. He reasoned if she and Bryan could still fly even through the regression spell, maybe the mermaid magic they had from the magic shells they used to carry still worked. Even as a mini-mermaid she might be able to get the box. If the magic didn't work she'd probably fuss over getting unnecessarily wet and he'd have to dive in for the box himself but both were problems he could live with if the need arose. Which it looked like he might have to anyway. Lea held on to her securely but over the water and she was starting to get squirmy. Swimming with penguins seemed like a lot of fun until the penguins got up close and curious.

"Now we're going to try something. And I'll be right here to get you out if it doesn't work so-."

"Um, no. No, no I don' wanna anymore."

"Why not? I know you like to swim."

"They won' go 'way!"

"Yeah, these featherheads are pretty nosy. Go on, beat it." Lea caused a wave of heat to surge across the surface of the water. The penguins darted off, startled. "There. All gone. Now come on. If this doesn't work you'll just get a bit wet."

"NO! No, no, no! Is too deep! Is too deep!"

"You'll be fine. If this works the depth won't matter. And if it doesn't I promise I won't let go."

It took a fair amount of coaxing and reassurances before Lea just went ahead and lowered little Rachel into the water. She fussed, squirmed and squeaked protests all the while, scared the penguins might be mean and not wanting to be dropped in the water. Eventually Lea just held on tight and dipped her in. She clung to his arm to his arm so tightly he was certain he'd bruise. He knew kids had surprising vice-like strength but he wasn't quite expecting what he got.

"Rachel, hey, you're okay. Look, look what happened. You have to open your eyes to see. A little wider. And _keep_ them open."

Once again it took a bit of coaxing to make Rachel realize she wasn't sinking to the bottom of the briny depths to her doom while escorted by penguin cherubs. And once she saw what had happened once in the water….holy catfish that _squeal_! Little Rachel was so excited she could hardly contain herself. She had no concept of fear of water depth and her elation made it impossible to be scared of the penguins.

"Okay, are you done yet?" Lea tried to call after her third lap around the tank. Last thing he needed was for her to get too tired to haul the box over and be back to square one.

"Lookiemelookieme!"

"Yes! I see you. Everybody sees you! Now can you please go down and get the box?"

Thankfully she only took one more lap before doing as asked. It wasn't easy for her to get the box over however. She tried pushing but that didn't get her far. Pulling the side-handle worked but slowly. Every time she heaved the box would lift and she could pull it a few inches before it would drop again. The other mini-friends had their faces pressed against the glass, watching. Then came the time to actually bring the box back up. Lea wasn't at all surprised when Rachel couldn't do it. As hard as she tried the box was too heavy to lift more than a foot before losing strength.

"Hey, Bryan, your turn."

"Me!?"

"Yes, you. You should be ab-."

But Bryan didn't need to hear anything else. He leapt into the air and flew to the top of the glass. He also needed no encouragement to hold his nose and jump in. The mermaid magic worked just as well for him too. And it was no surprise when he too took several laps of delight around the tank instead of going to help his sister. Only he thought it was funny to chase the penguins. Not saying it wasn't amusing. However a penguin is a good sport for only so long before it's had enough. Then the tables turn in a big way. Bryan was only just able to keep the lead against the crankiest penguin. Rachel stayed curled up at the bottom with the box. Why invite trouble when not necessary? Eventually Bryan got himself to where he could missile-launch himself out of the water. Of course he was also aiming at Lea, probably thinking he could save him from the mad penguin. Only Lea wasn't completely prepared for that so while he did catch Bryan he also got significantly wet.

"That' peyn-gin's mean!"

"Then you shouldn't have been chasing it! Now get back in there and help your sister!"

Lea very unceremoniously tossed Bryan back into the water. Very, _very_ quickly Bryan dove to the bottom before the nasty penguin realized he was back. But two fins were better than one and the final box was brought up easily. Once the box was out Lea hauled out the mini Masters. He gave up on being careful not to get wet himself. Good thing too. Bryan was still so stoked over the whole thing he took to the air again and showered everyone from the drip off his clothes. Naturally Rachel saw what her brother was doing and did it too. Sora, Riku and Kairi thought it was fun to get rained on.

"Okay, all of you, let's go." Lea put the smaller box inside of the last one. "We got what we came for so come on."

"Do we hafta walk?" Bryan asked.

"No. Just don't go too high or get to far ahead. And Riku, stop tugging at my clothes. What do you want?"

Little Riku clambered up to the top of the concrete platform Lea had created. Once up he stood there with his arms held up.

" _ **I**_ found it! And _you_ **said**!"

"You're right. I did. C'mon."

Lea backed up to the platform and reached his free arm over his shoulder. Riku grabbed ahold and Lea hoisted him up to his back where Riku clung on like a koala.

The parade back to the obelisk began immediately after. Sora and Kairi kept jumping in the air, trying to fly like Rachel and Bryan. Rachel tried taking Kairi by the hand and lifting her up. That didn't work too well until Bryan helped her out. Even with two of them lifting from each wrist Kairi only came off the ground a few inches. But that was fine for her. Especially when they came to a long flight of stairs leading down to the main square. Three long platforms divided the flights. So Kairi held on tight and ran to the stairs. Once she reached them, she jumped and Rachel and Bryan zoomed forward, skipping the stairs completely. Kairi took more running steps once on the platform then the three repeated the process until they reached the bottom. It wasn't that surprising that Kairi was a squealing, shrieking mess of joy. Neither was it a surprise that Sora wanted to do it too. So Lea stood in the center of the stairs, took Sora by the wrist from the top step and swung him to the platform below. Not quite flying but it did the job.

"Okay, everybody, to the obelisk."

"Was an obbyisk?"

"The tall pointy thing."

"Okay!"

Riku was fine with being the only one not trying to be first to reach the obelisk. He wasn't going to cut short his well-earned piggyback for nothing. The other four were circled around the obelisk and trying to read the plaques attached to it. Of course none of them could read but they tried 'reading' by guessing the word based on the engraved image.

"Was that say?" Sora asked, pointing to a plaque he couldn't quite reach.

"Is say, crocky-dils." Bryan reported.

The plaque actually said Reptile House but it had a picture of an alligator under it so in his mind he was smart and correct.

"C'mon, Riku, time to get down." Lea stopped just outside of the ring of red bricks.

"No!"

"I think you're going to want to."

"No!"

"Suit yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you."

As soon as the last of the group crossed the brick line with the completed objective the magic came to a halt. The boxes were gone. The zoo vanished. They were all back in a basic starting room for mini quests and they could finish the day however they wanted. The age spell reversed.

"Whoa…my equilibrium just went…whoa." Bryan said. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"This is…eck, this is how it was last time too." Kairi told him.

Fortunately for Riku everyone else was turned the other way when he discovered where he was. Spatially their location remained the same even though the spell ended.

"Comfortable?" Lea asked just loud enough for him to hear.

A germaphobe couldn't have jumped away from a leper faster than Riku removed himself from Lea's personal space. He composed himself quickly before anyone else had a chance to see what had happened. It was very obvious how hard he tried not to look at Lea, much to Lea's amusement. Riku's posture however also very obviously said 'if you value life you will say nothing'.

Lea was okay with such an arrangement. Besides, it's the things you don't talk about right when they happen that make good blackmail material later.


End file.
